Author: Tom Stoppard

Title: The Real Thing

Publishing house: Faber and Faber

Published: 1991

Place: London

Characters:

Max: He is about forty years old, and he is Annie´s husband, but both of them are unfaithful. He is a nice person, and at the same time he gets on well with everybody.

Annie: She is about thirty years old. She is an actress. She has been unfaithful to Max with Henry, although Henry has got a wife. Annie is an attractive and pretty woman.

Henry: He is the main character. He is about forty years old. He is married to Charlotte, his daughter is nomed Debbie. However, he has got a relationship with Annie. Henry is a writer.

Charlotte: She is about thirty-five years old. She is Henry´s wife and Debbie´s mother. She is an actress. She is not a very pretty woman but she is a nice person.

Billy: He is about twenty-two years old. He is an actor and he works with Annie. It is said that Billy loves Annie because he is very kind with her, but we do not know if he has a relationship with Annie.

Debbie: She is Henry and Charlotte´s daughter. She is seventeen years old. She is a liberal person because she does what she wants.

Brodie: He is twenty-five years old. He is a soldier. Max and Annie met him on a train when they went to a demonstration. Brodie is arrested because he goes against missiles. Annie and Max wants Brodie leaves the prison.

Plot:

On the one hand, Henry and Charlotte are married and they live together. On the other hand, Max and Annie are married and they live together too. One day, Henry and Annie met and they began a couple´s relationship although both of them had couple. Charlotte is a good person, and she forgives her husband. However, Max meets a woman but Annie does not know it (Max has an affair with a woman). Debbie appears because she is the Henry and Charlotte´s daughter. She does what she wants and her father is worried about  her attitude. She has had a lot of sexual relationship with boys. Annie goes on a trip, and she and Max meet a soldier who is a very nice person but this soldier is arrested because he goes against missiles.

Setting:

The play takes place in many places: In the sitting-room at home of Annie and Max, in the sitting-room at home of Henry and Charlotte, on the train, Debbie´s bedrrom. The last scene develops in an empty place. These places are urban simple and closed. It represents the everyday life.

Time:

The play develops for several years. The time represents the day by day. The play is divided into two acts and thirteen scenes because in the second act both couples live in different houses two years after. Thus, we can see a flash back in time.

Literary devices: Style

This play is written in prose, it uses a simple and legible language. This play has got not only short sentences but long sentences.

Personal Opinion:

The play is amusing, although the relationship among the couples is something confusing, however, with refers to couples´ infidelity, we must say that it is very common nowadays.