but she made it clear she wished to remain married to Jeremy Irons and stay close to their two sons. Playwright Sir Tom Stoppard was born Tomás Straüssler on 3 July 1937 in Zlín, Czechoslovakia. In 1964, a Ford Foundation grant enabled Stoppard to spend 5 months writing in a Berlin mansion, emerging with a one-act play titled Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Meet King Lear, which later evolved into his Tony-winning play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Tom Stoppard, original name Tomas Straussler, in full Sir Tom Stoppard, (born July 3, 1937, Zlín, Czechoslovakia [now in Czech Republic]), Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter whose work is marked by verbal brilliance, ingenious action, and structural dexterity. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [9] In the book Tom Stoppard in Conversation, Stoppard tells how his father died in Japanese captivity, a prisoner of war[10][11] but has said that he subsequently discovered that Straussler was reported to have drowned on board a ship bombed by Japanese forces whilst trying to flee Singapore in 1942.[6]. He was previously married to Miriam Stoppard and Jose Ingle. [18] Stoppard also worked on Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, though again Stoppard received no official or formal credit in this role. Also, after she was reunited with a son she had given up for adoption, she wished to spend time with him in Dublin rather than with Stoppard in the house they shared in France. [25], In July 2017, Stoppard was elected an Honorary Fellow of the British Academy (HonFBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences.[26]. [40], Stoppard at a reception in Russia in 2007, sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFKelly2001 (, English picturesque style of garden design, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, Silver Bear for an outstanding single achievement, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play, Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement, Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, "The 100 most powerful people in British culture", "Jewish district inspires Tom Stoppard in 'personal' new play", "Tom Stoppard's Dark Side comes to BBC Radio 2", Morris, Mark (30 November 1999). Stoppard has been a playwright of the National Theatre and is one of the most internationally performed dramatists of his generation. [14], Rock'n'Roll (2006) was set in both Cambridge, England and Prague. He is the son of Martha Becková and Eugen Straussler, a doctor employed by the Bata shoe company. [37] The terracotta remains in the collection of the artist in London. Tom Stoppard biography Tom Stoppard. [19][20] He worked in a similar capacity with Tim Burton on his film Sleepy Hollow. Tom Stoppard was born on July 3, 1937 in Zlín, Czechoslovakia as Tomas Straussler. Buy Tom Stoppard: A Life Main by Lee, Professor Dame Hermione (ISBN: 9780571314430) from Amazon's Book Store. [29] In 2014 he married Sabrina Guinness.[31]. Housman, was first staged in 1997. Stoppard's father, Eugene Straussler, was a company physician whose Czech company sent him (with his family) to a branch factory in Singapore in 1938/39. He began to write plays in 1960 after moving to London. [11] He has expressed grief both for a lost father and a missing past, but he has no sense of being a survivor, at whatever remove. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Eugen’s family, who were all Jewish, similarly crossed borders. Just before the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, the town's patron, Jan Antonín Baťa, transferred his Jewish employees, mostly physicians, to branches of his firm outside Europe. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1977), "a play for actors and orchestra" was based on a request by conductor/composer André Previn; inspired by a meeting with a Russian exile. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Steven Spielberg states that though Stoppard was uncredited for the latter, "he was responsible for almost every line of dialogue in the film". [15], In his early years, Stoppard wrote extensively for BBC radio, often introducing surrealist themes. The story of Hamlet as told from the viewpoint of two courtiers echoes Beckett in its double act repartee, existential themes and language play. Born in Czechoslovakia, Stoppard left as a child refugee, fleeing imminent Nazi occupation. Arcadia, which juxtaposes 19th-century Romanticism and 20th-century chaos theory and is set in a Derbyshire country house, premiered in 1993, and The Invention of Love, about A.E. Within a week after sending A Walk on the Water to an agent, Stoppard received his version of the "Hollywood-style telegrams that change struggling young artists' lives." "[33] In 2007, Stoppard described himself as a "timid libertarian". His plays include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1966), Travesties (1974), The Real Thing (1982), and films Shakespeare in Love (1998, written with Marc Norman) and Enigma (2001). Tom Stoppard is a Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter. Find Tom Stoppard movies, filmography, bio, co stars, photos, news and tweets. Arcadia is a 1993 play by Tom Stoppard concerning the relationship between past and present, order and disorder, certainty and uncertainty. Born: July 3, 1937 Zlin, Czechoslovakia Czech-born English playwright One of England's most important playwrights, Czechoslovakian-born Tom Stoppard is popular in the United States as well. ^ Reiter, Amy (13 November 2001). Tom Stoppard, July 3, Born on July 1937, Tomas Straussler best known as Sir Tom Stoppard is a Czech-born British screenwriter and playwright, He came into recognition for his articulate writings for radio, TV, film and stage works. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Hermione Lee has written an authorized biography of playwright, screenwriter, translator, and man of letters Tom Stoppard, called Tom Stoppard: A Life.It was released in the United Kingdom on October 1st and should appear in the United States on February 23, 2021. Among his early screenplays are those for The Romantic Englishwoman (1975), Despair (1978), and Brazil (1985), as well as for a film version (1990) of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead that he also directed. Stoppard's father remained in Singapore as a British army volunteer, knowing that, as a doctor, he would be needed in its defence. Tom Stoppard (STOP-ahrd) was born Tomas Straussler, the second son of Eugene and Martha Straussler, in Zlín, Czechoslovakia (now in Czech Republic), on July 3, 1937. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Hermione Lee’s biography of Tom Stoppard … Stoppard was born Tomáš Straussler, in Zlín, a city dominated by the shoe manufacturing industry, in the Moravia region of Czechoslovakia. [13], The Coast of Utopia (2002) was a trilogy of plays Stoppard wrote about the philosophical arguments among Russian revolutionary figures in the late 19th century. Tom Stoppard’s father, Eugen Sträussler, born in 1908, had a quite common Austrian surname. [3] He was inspired by a Trevor Nunn production of Gorky's Summerfolk to write a trilogy of "human" plays: The Coast of Utopia (Voyage, Shipwreck, and Salvage, 2002). In February 1977, he visited the Soviet Union and several Eastern European countries with a member of Amnesty International. He was knighted in 1997. Immediately download the Tom Stoppard summary, chapter-by-chapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more - everything you need for studying or teaching Tom Stoppard. Travesties (1974) explored the 'Wildean' possibilities arising from the fact that Vladimir Lenin, James Joyce, and Tristan Tzara had all been in Zürich during the First World War. His parents were non-observant Jews,[6] members of a long-established community. The trilogy The Coast of Utopia (Voyage, Shipwreck, and Salvage), first performed in 2002, explores the lives and debates of a circle of 19th-century Russian émigré intellectuals; it received a Tony Award for best play. The Real Thing (1982) uses a meta-theatrical structure to explore the suffering that adultery can produce and The Invention of Love (1997) also investigates the pain of passion. I think I was always looking for the entertainer in myself and I seem to be able to entertain through manipulating language... [but] it's really about human beings, it's not really about language at all." His play was the greater success: it entered the repertory of Britain’s National Theatre in 1967 and rapidly became internationally renowned. Get the latest on Tom Stoppard on Fandango. His theatrical surfaces serve to conceal rather than reveal their author's views, and his fondness for towers of paradox spirals away from social comment. He has been co-opted into the Outrapo group, a far-from-serious French movement to improve actors' stage technique through science. When Tomas was two years old, his family fled to Singapore when the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia. He noted that the work owed much to Robert Bolt's Flowering Cherry and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. "Tom Stoppard, The Art of Theater No. [17], Stoppard has also co-written screenplays including Shakespeare in Love and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Jumpers (1972) places a professor of moral philosophy in a murder mystery thriller alongside a slew of radical gymnasts. In Bristol, he became known more for his strained attempts at humour and unstylish clothes than for his writing. Stoppard’s play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1964–65) was performed at the Edinburgh Festival in 1966. "[36], Stoppard sat for sculptor Alan Thornhill, and a bronze head is now in public collection, situated with the Stoppard papers in the reading room of the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Tom Stoppard: A Life – A great biography of a great playwright Hermione Lee sheds light on a private man, from his Czech Jewish past to his marriages Tom Stoppard in … "I feel incredibly lucky not to have had to survive or die. Salon. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Stoppard’s father was working in Singapore in the late 1930s. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead transferred to Broadway in 1967 and later received a Tony Award for best play. Tom Stoppard. At the Bristol Old Vic, at the time a well-regarded regional repertory company, Stoppard formed friendships with director John Boorman and actor Peter O'Toole early in their careers. The play explored the culture of 1960s rock music, especially the persona of Syd Barrett and the political challenge of the Czech band The Plastic People of the Universe, mirroring the contrast between liberal society in England and the repressive Czech state after the Warsaw Pact intervention in the Prague Spring. [11], The accusations of favouring intellectuality over political commitment or commentary were met with a change of tack, as Stoppard produced increasingly socially engaged work.