SOURCE: "The Art of History in Tom Stoppard's Travesties," in Kansas Quarterly, Vol. 12, No. 4, Fall, 1980, pp. 47-52.

In the essay below, Billman explores the connection between art and history in Travesties: "Through his characterization of Carr, Stoppard yokes the roles of artist and historian … , affirming through Carr the importance of history and the individual 'making' it."

In his profile of Tom Stoppard for the New Yorker [December 19, 1977] Kenneth Tynan, pursuing a biblical distinction, divides contemporary British dramatists into two camps:

On one side were the hairy men—heated, embattled, socially committed playwrights, like John Osborne, John Arden, and Arnold Wesker, who had come out fighting in the late fifties. On the other side were the smooth men—cool, apolitical stylists, like Harold Pinter, the late Joe Orton, Christopher Hampton … , Alan Ayckbourn … , Simon Gray … , and Stoppard.

Stoppard himself said in 1974, "I think that in future I must stop compromising...