Stoppard, Tom (1937-…), is a British dramatist. His works are noted for their imaginative blend of philosophical themes, witty dialogue, and broad comic technique. Stoppard’s plays often dramatize actual historical figures and events.
Stoppard first gained fame for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1967). In this play, he used two minor characters from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet to probe the meaninglessness he saw in human existence. In Jumpers (1972), Stoppard mixed acrobatics, murder, and philosophy. Travesties (1974) uses famous literary and political figures to explore questions of art and politics. Every Good Boy Deserves Favor (1977) includes a symphony orchestra and deals with Soviet dissidents. Night and Day (1978) is a realistic play that discusses the role of journalism in the modern world. In Hapgood (1988), Stoppard blends espionage and the quantum theory of physics. Arcadia (1993) investigates the mysteries of love, time, and thermodynamics.
Stoppard wrote a trilogy called The Coast of Utopia (2002), focusing on Russian intellectuals during the 1800’s. The individual plays are Voyage, Shipwreck, and Salvage. Stoppard divides the action in Rock ‘n’ Roll (2006) between Prague in the Czech Republic and Cambridge University in England from 1968 to 1989.
Stoppard’s other plays include The Real Inspector Hound (1968), After Magritte (1970), Dirty Linen (1976), The Real Thing (1982), and The Hard Problem (2015). Stoppard shared the 1998 Academy Award for best original screenplay with Marc Norman for Shakespeare in Love, one of his several screenplays.
Stoppard was born on July 3, 1937, in Zlin, in what is now the Czech Republic. He moved with his family to England in 1946. Stoppard worked as a reporter until the early 1960’s, when he began writing plays. Stoppard was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997.
