The Real Thing
Tom Stoppard
This sophisticated drama explores the nature of love and fidelity through the life of Henry, a witty playwright. When Henry’s own life begins to mirror the scenes of adultery he writes for the stage, the boundaries between fiction and reality blur. The play moves beyond Stoppard’s typical intellectualism to offer a deeply emotional look at the pain of betrayal and the search for authentic connection. It is famed for its "play-within-a-play" structure and its clever use of a cricket bat as a metaphor for good writing, remains one of his most frequently revived and beloved works.
Henry: A brilliant, articulate playwright whose intellectual defenses crumble when he experiences the raw, unscripted emotional pain of love and marital infidelity in real life. Annie: An actress and activist whose passionate pursuit of emotional truth and social causes disrupts Henry’s orderly, detached world and leads to their complex affair. Charlotte: Henry’s first wife and an actress who provides a grounded, somewhat cynical perspective on their failed marriage and the artifice of theatrical performance.
First Performance: 1982, at Strand Theatre (now Novello Theatre), London
Instant success; won the Evening Standard Award for Best Play and later swept the Tony Awards.
Original Actors: Roger Rees, Felicity Kendal