Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL (born Tomáš Straussler 3 July 1937) is an influential British playwright, knighted in 1997.[1] He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage. He is perhaps most famous for his stage play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Notable radio plays include Artist Descending A Staircase, Albert's Bridge, Professional Foul and The Dog It Was That Died.
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Biography[]
Stoppard was born Tomáš Straussler, in Zlín, a "Shoe Town", in the Moravia region of Czechoslovakia. He was the son of Martha Beckova and Eugen Straüssler, a doctor with the Bata shoe company. Both parents were Jewish. In 1939, Stoppard left Czechoslovakia as a child refugee, fleeing imminent Nazi occupation. In 1945, his mother Martha married British army major Kenneth Stoppard, who gave the boys his English surname and, in 1946, after the war, moved the family to England. After being educated by schools in Nottingham and Yorkshire, Stoppard became a journalist, a drama critic and then, in 1960, a playwright. He has been married twice, to Josie Ingle (1965–1972) and Miriam Stoppard (1972–1992), and has two sons, one from each marriage, including actor Ed Stoppard.
Stage and Film Career[]
Radio Career[]
Stoppard's first play for radio was The Dissolution of Dominic Boot for the radio series Just Before Midnight in 1964. Discovered by script editor Richard Imison, the commission allowed him to continue writing, and was followed by many others works, both original radio plays and radio adaptations of his stage work.
He won a Giles Cooper Award in 1982 for The Dog It Was That Died and another in 1991 for In the Native State. In 1968 he won the Prix Italia for Albert's Bridge. His most recent original work for radio is the 2008 production of On Dover Beach.
Radio Plays[]
- The Dissolution of Dominic Boot (1964)[2], (1978)[3]
- 'M' is for Moon Amongst Other Things (1964)
- A Separate Peace (1965), (1981)
- Walk on the Water (1965)
- If You're Glad I'll Be Frank (1966)
- Albert's Bridge (1967), (1988),
- Where Are They Now? (1970)
- Artist Descending A Staircase (1972)
- Enter a Free Man (1976)
- Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1978), (1983),(2007)
- Professional Foul (1979)
- The Real Inspector Hound (1979)
- The Dog It Was That Died (1982)
- Night and Day (1990)
- In the Native State (1991)
- The Undiscovered Country (1991)
- The Real Thing (1992), (2006)
- Arcadia (1993), (2007)
- Three Men In A Boat (1994)
- The Invention of Love (1999)
- 15-Minute Hamlet (2007)
- Rock 'n' Roll (2007)
- On Dover Beach (2007)
References[]
External links[]
- British Council Profile. Accessed 2011-01-02
- BBC John Tusa Interview (Audio 43 mins). With transcript. BBC profile. Accessed 2011-01-02
- IMDB Entry
- Diversity entry on Stoppard
Articles[]
- "Czechs and thugs and rock’n’roll" The Times Interview (11 June 2006) Accessed 2010-02-19
- New York Times Magazine article, "Playing with ideas" 26 November 2006 Accessed 2010-02-19
- Daily Telegraph Sir Tom Stoppard interview By Nigel Farndale 19 Jan 2010 Accessed 2010-02-19
- Guardian Profile of Stoppard And now, the real thing by Stephen Moss, 22 June 2002 Accessed 2010-02-19
- Guardian interview by Maya Jaggi 6 September 200 "You can't help being what you write" accessed 2010-02-21
- Ciar Byrne, "Tom Stoppard: The true voice of old England", Interview with Stoppard The Independent 14 March 2008 Accessed 2010-02-19
- Ian Burrell, "Stoppard back on the BBC after an interval of three decades," The Independent 29 July 2010 Accessed 2010-07-29
Work[]
- Tom Stoppard archive at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin Accessed 2010-02-19