‘There are no commitments, only bargains.’
Annie is an actress, Henry is a playwright, and fiction is the backdrop to life. Hardly a recipe for a faithful marriage, especially when it started as an affair.
But does it matter how it began if what they have is the real thing?
Diving through layers of play and performance, reality and deceit, The Real Thing is Tom Stoppard’s kaleidoscopic comedy of love, infidelity and the stories we tell. Starring James McArdle (Mare of Easttown, The Tragedy of Macbeth) and Bel Powley (A Small Light, The Morning Show), and directed by Max Webster (Macbeth, Life of Pi).
__Assisted Performances:__
Audio Described, 11 Oct, 7.30pm (Touch Tour, 5.30pm)
Relaxed, (audio described, captioned and BSL interpreted) 12 Oct, 2.30pm
Captioned, 14 Oct, 7.30pm
BSL Interpreted, 17 Oct, 7.30pm
The Real Thing is a palimpsest of a play that is so rich that I wanted to go straight back to the text and savour the language on the page as well as the stage. The riches are too many and complex to be garnered in one viewing, enjoyable as that was last night. So, it’s a real joy to see this play. I will definitely go back for a second viewing.
What a pleasure to have Tom Stoppard’s brilliantly inventive 1982 Tony-winning play The Real Thing back in London. Even better, both its formal daring and its frank, subversive portrait of complicated relationships are thoughtfully handled in Max Webster’s stylish and strikingly cast revival.
1984 | Broadway |
Broadway |
2000 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Broadway |
2010 | West End |
Old Vic Production West End |
2014 | Broadway |
Roundabout Theatre Production Broadway |
West End |
West End |
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