One of England's most important playwrights, Tom Stoppard (born 1937) gained a wide international audience. His two great stage successes were Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and The Real Thing, and his co-written screenplay Shakespeare in Love...

[This entry was updated by Anne Wright (University of Sunderland) from her entry in the Concise Dictionary of British Literary Biography, volume 8, pp. 366-388.] Tom Stoppard, a leading figure of the British theater since the mid 1960s, ranks as a...

Tom Stoppard, a leading figure of the British theater since the mid 1960s, ranks as a dramatist of brilliant and original comic genius. His first major success established him as a master of philosophical farce, combining dazzling theatricality and wit...

The Sopranos will air at the same time as the 61st annual Tony Awards ceremony on Sunday, June 10. But I know which one I’ll be watching. Yes, siree! I’ll be tuned to CBS, breathlessly watching the outcome of the Tonys along with the other...

"LoveMusik," a look at the relationship between composer Kurt Weill and actress Lotte Lenya, received 12 Drama Desk nominations Thursday, honoring the best of the 2006-2007 New York theater season.It was followed by three other musicals _ "Curtains," "Legally Blonde" and "Spring Awakening" _ and...

THEATERWell, if you don’t feel guilty about crossing the picket lines, Mel Brook’s Young Frankenstein at the Hilton Theatre is still the hottest ticket on Broadway, albeit with a slightly less fiery flame. According to the Observer’s John Heilpern, the “production is handsome,...

Tom Stoppard’s The Coast of Utopia, which opened in October at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, closed on May 13. If you’re already suffering from withdrawal symptoms, two fixes are available: A one-volume paperback edition of the trilogy (Grove, $15), and Anthony Grafton’s love letter in...

In this essay, Zeifman focuses on Hapgood to uncover a note of optimism which distinguishes Stoppard's plays from works by Samuel Beckett and other writers of absurdist drama.

In the essay below, Doll provides an overview of Stoppard's drama, noting the use of paradox, ambiguity, and humor, which characterize his work as "post-Absurdist. "

Dean explores the interrelation of politics and playwriting throughout much of Stopparci's work.

Tom Stoppard's "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" is a parody of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet." Part of the humor is that the two main characters involve the audience in the play, with the audience symbolizing reality and the actors representing fantasy.