Tom Stoppard

Sir Tom Stoppard, OM (born 3 July 1937) is a Czech-born British playwright, famous for plays such as The Real Thing and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, and for the screenplay for Shakespeare in Love.

Work for radio, film, and TV

In his early years Stoppard wrote extensively for BBC radio, in many cases introducing a touch of surrealism. Some of his better known radio works include: If You're Glad, I'll Be Frank; Albert's Bridge; The Dog it was that Died; and Artist Descending a Staircase, a story told by means of multiple levels of nested flashback. He returned to the medium for In the Native State (1991), a story set both in colonial India and present-day England, and examines the relationship of the two countries. Stoppard later expanded the work to become the stage play Indian Ink (1995).

Related Topics:
BBC - Radio - The Dog it was that Died - 1991 - 1995

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In his television play Professional Foul (1977), an English philosophy professor visits Prague, officially to speak at a colloquium, unofficially to watch a football international between England and Czechoslovakia. He meets one of his former students and is persuaded to smuggle the student's dissident thesis out of the country.

Related Topics:
Professional Foul - 1977

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He has also adapted many of his own plays for film and TV, notably the 1990 production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. It is reported that Stoppard assisted George Lucas in polishing up some of the dialogue for ', though Stoppard received no official or formal credit in this role.

Related Topics:
1990 - Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead - George Lucas

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Tom Stoppard has written extensively for film and television. Some of his better known scripts and adaptations include:

Related Topics:
Film - Television

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• (1975) Three Men in a Boat (adaptation of Jerome K. Jerome's novel for BBC Television)
• (1975) The Boundary (co-authored by Clive Exton, a 30 minute BBC television play written, rehearsed and performed within a week)
• (1977) Professional Foul
• (1985) Brazil (script nominated for an Academy Award)
• (1987) Empire of the Sun
• (1990) The Russia House
• (1998) Shakespeare In Love (co-authored by Marc Norman, script won an Academy Award)
• (2001) Enigma
• (2005) His Dark Materials (in production)