Introduction & Overview of The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard

The Real Thing Introduction

From the overnight sensation of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1966) to the recent success of his script (with Marc Norman) for Shakespeare in Love (1998), Tom Stoppard has been acclaimed as one of the most important dramatic writers of the late-twentieth century. The Real Thing was first produced in 1982 on London's West End, and the cast included Roger Rees and Felicity Kendal (who subsequently became Stoppard's second wife). Its commercial and critical success was followed two years later by a sell-out production on Broadway in New York, with Glenn Close and Jeremy Irons in the main roles. That production won several Antionette "Tony" Perry Awards.

The play focuses upon Henry, who, much like Stoppard, is a successful playwright. Henry is married to an actress, Charlotte, who is playing the lead in his current play; he has fallen in love with another actress, Annie, for whom he soon...
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