Tom Stoppard
Czech-born British playwright who brought dazzling intellectual wit and philosophical depth to the commercial stage. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead made him famous overnight at 29; Arcadia is considered his masterpiece. He combines ideas about time, thermodynamics, and art with impeccable comic timing.
Works
- Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are DeadMetatheatrical absurdist play reimagining Shakespeare's Hamlet from peripheral characters' perspective
- ArcadiaPlay interweaving Restoration comedy, chaos theory, and competing narratives about passion
- The Real ThingComedy about married couple testing their relationship through games and provocations
- TravestiesAbsurdist farce mixing Dada, Oscar Wilde, and Lenin during World War I
- JumpersMetatheatrical farce about philosophers discussing and performing academic concerns