When The Real Thing first premiered in London in November of 1982, there were two distinctly different reactions to the play reactions that have come to characterize critical reaction to Stoppard's work. While all reviewers of Stoppard's writing, right from the first ecstatic reaction to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead in 1966, have exulted in his wit and cleverness, some of them have complained that his writing lacks emotional depth.

Just such a reaction characterized Irving Wardle's hostile review of the premiere of The Real Thing in the London Times. In " Stoppard's Romance in a Cold Climate," Wardle complained that "the cumulative effect of The Real Thing is one of cleverness with its back to the wall." Wardle took a dim view of the debate between Henry and Annie about Brodie's play. He admitted that it was "a classic statement of the art versus truth debate" but felt...