The Real Thing [Hardcover]

Tom Stoppard (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 84 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber; 1st edition (January 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000ICRGZM
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,370,177 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tom Stoppard is the author of such seminal works as Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Travesties, Every Good Boy Deserves a Favor, Arcadia, Jumpers, The Real Thing, and The Invention of Love.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The usual Stoppard brilliance., August 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Real Thing: A Play (Paperback)

As what is considered a turning point in Stoppard's ability to write romance, The Real Thing includes the usual ingenius commentary on life and art this time woven through a love story. Thus, the play can be enjoyed for the usual Stoppardian elevated language and fascinating explanations of quality art as well as its touching yet clever romantic plot. Moreover, it is this plot that sets it apart from Stoppard's earlier work. The characters in The Real Thing make up complex relationships and display emotions that add another facet to Stoppard's masterful control of the language. Dialogue seemlessly drifts between discussions of language to discussions of life, all the while maintaining the level of quality for which Stoppard is famous. It is a wonderful play demonstrating wit, intelligence, cleverness, and overall entertainment in a variety of ways.

As Ros. and Guil. used Hamlet and Travesties used the Importance of Being Ernest, The Real Thing contains certain references to 'Tis Pity She's a Whore that make that Jacobean tragedy a helpful piece of background reading.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply superb, May 24, 2000

By 

M. L. Arnautov "Mike Arnautov" (Bucks., UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Real Thing: A Play (Paperback)

This play is very funny in places, very moving in places, very absorbing in places -- all of it in an apparently seamless whole of the high Stoppardian quality. How does the man do it? How does one write a dissertation on the art of writing using a cricket bat as a teaching aid? To quote another recent Stoppard's work: "It's a mystery!..."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I Enjoyed this Production BUT..., September 14, 2010

By 

My Two Cents,and some change... "My Two Cents" (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Real Thing (Dramatized) (Audible Audio Edition)

I truely enjoyed this revival of Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing. It has been one of my favorite plays since the original Broadway production with Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close. At one time, there was an audio version of that cast (I had it on cassette tape,) which is now out of print. I have looked everywhere! Nobody has it available.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE!!! ---re-release THAT version of the play on CD. It would make a fantastic addition to anyone's collection of spoken word recordings.