Stephanie Gamarra Wäntig 3rd of January, 2005

Group: A

The Play,

“The Real Thing”

“The Real Thing” is a play written by the famous playwright Tom Stoppard. This play was first publicized in 1982, London. The editorial is Faber and Faber.

In this two-act play we can find many characters although only two can be categorized as the main characters in this play which are, Henry and Annie. The rest of the characters of this play are, Charlotte, Max, Billy, Debbie and Brodie. Henry is a 40 year old writer who is married to Charlotte who both have a daughter called Debbie. Although he is married to Charlotte he has an affair with Annie. Henry is an amiable person although at she could be arrogant. Annie, is a 30 year old actress who is very pretty and very attractive. Although she is married to Max, she also cheats on him with Henry. Although in the play it’s not confirmed, the author makes the reader believe that there is something with Annie and Billy. Charlotte is a 35 year old woman who isn’t that attractive but very friendly and nice. She is the wife of Henry and the mother of Debbie. Max, is a 40 year old man who is very kind and an understandable person. He is married to Charlotte, although at the end they divorce and he marries another woman who is also an actress. Brodie is a 25 year old soldier. He is the rebellious type who stands up for his beliefs that’s why he ends up going to prison for participating in a manifestation.

In this play we can say that it’s an irregular play because a lot of the stories get mixed up with others and we can also see a part of the play that is either reality or fiction.

The play talks about two couples who get married, Henry and Charlotte, who have a daughter in common, and Max and Annie. As time goes by, Henry and Annie start having a secret affair which finally is reveled and they end up separating from their partners to be together. Later on, Henry gets very jealous because he thinks that his wife might be having an affair with Billy. The other story is about an actor called Brodie, who gets arrested and sent to prison for participating in a manifestation. While he is in prison he decides to write a play, and to do so Annie (who he flirts with) tries helping him by convincing Henry to help him write it. The whole play talks about the conflicts that these characters have.

The places in which this play takes place are in various places which are in closed and very simple places. The scenes take place either in Henry and Charlotte’s living room, Max and Annie’s living room, or the train where Annie finds Billy. Another aspect that we can see is that there are a lot of doors which make it easy for the characters to come and go.

The play takes place in the present. The play is divided into two acts and 13 scenes. The play takes place during a long period of time. According to the play only two years pass by from one act to the other. It’s coherent but it also has a time ellipsis which occurs from the first act to the other.

The play is written in verse, in very simple language which the author uses to make it easier for the reader to understand and comprehend better. The level of language used in the play is rather colloquial and simple.

In my opinion the play was very entertaining because the story talked about couples and how their relationships changed which is very common nowadays. The theme of the story is quite interesting because the theme talks about couples cheating on each other and remarrying which is very common nowadays.