The Real Thing

Tom Stoppard

About the Production

WRITER Tom Stoppard
DIRECTOR Kate Saxon
DESIGNER Simon Higlett
LIGHTING DESIGNER Paul Pyant
COMPOSER Dominic Haslam
SOUND DESIGNER Mic Pool
CASTING DIRECTORS Gemma Hancock 
Sam Stevenson 

 


CHARLOTTE Sarah Ball
BRODIE Sandy Batchelor
HENRY Gerald Kyd
DEBBIE Georgina Leonidas
BILLY Adam O'Brian
ANNIE Marianne Oldham
MAX Simon Scardifield

 


A glorious play… Stoppard's wit and intellectual rigour is warmed by the glow of romance
The Daily Telegraph

Henry is a brilliant and celebrated playwright.  With his wife Charlotte in the starring role, his new play examines the complexity of love and infidelity.  Henry’s reality and fiction blur when passions ignite and his own marriage becomes entwined with that of Charlotte’s co-star, Max and wife Annie.  As Henry struggles to write a new work, the players in this game of deceit and lust are all searching.  But can any of them find The Real Thing?

Tom Stoppard is one of the most important writers alive today, applauded the world over for his work in theatre and film (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Arcadia, Empire of the Sun, Shakespeare in Love).  Sparklingly witty, genuinely moving and thought-provoking, The Real Thing sees Stoppard at the height of his powers. This play is one of his most enduring and richly acclaimed works (Evening Standard Award: Best Play, Drama Desk Award: Outstanding New Play, New York Drama Critics' Circle Award: Best Play, Tony Award: Best Play).
 
Hailed by the Stage Newspaper for ‘yet again demonstrating their resourceful and eclectic ability to bring their productions to a wider public’, English Touring Theatre, joins forces with the celebrated West Yorkshire Playhouse to stage this electrifying new production of Stoppard’s cunning exposé of love and betrayal.
 

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Latest Reviews

  •  A humerous, witty and all round exuberant performance from the whole cast and an utter delight to watch. Worth catching if you can.

     StageWon

  •  The play is complex, but it is brilliantly funny. And the production, the directorial decisions and the acting are almost flawless.

     Oxford Theatre Review

  •  Surely one of the best productions of this durable play there has ever been - a beautifully directed and designed version with a uniformly strong cast, who make the characters entirely believable and engaging... An all-round dazzling and heartfelt delight.

     Mid Sussex Times
  •  

     Oh that every week we had a play as well crafted by all as is The Real Thing.

     TheLatest
  •  

     Dazzling, humorous and heartfelt

     The Times
  •  

     This revival by the English Touring Theatre is a welcome reminder of what a fine piece of theatre it is… Gerald Kyd is quite brilliant as Henry, imbuing the character with an enormous amount of charisma, and displaying some terrific chemistry with Marianne Oldham’s Annie.

     Exeunt Magazine

  • a bold piece of modern British theatre; mastering romance, wit and deception to make for a truly exceptional evening.

     The Yorker
  •  

    A fresh look on the time-old themes of love, jealousy and new beginnings... Very impressive.

     ThePublicReviews
  •  

     From the very first moments the exchanges between the characters crackle with wit and rhythm

     WhatsOnStage

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The Real Thing
Tom Stoppard

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