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Quote by Tom Stoppard

“In the theater there is often a tension, almost a contradiction, between the way real people would think and behave, and a kind of imposed dramaticness.”

Quote by Tom Stoppard

Book:Tom Stoppard in Conversation

Work

Tom Stoppard in Conversation

Tom Stoppard in Conversation is a compilation of interviews and discussions with the celebrated playwright Tom Stoppard. The book delves into his thoughts on his plays, the creative process, and the evolution of his writing style over the years. more

Author

Tom Stoppard is a renowned British playwright, born on July 3, 1937. His works are known for their witty dialogue and complex structure, with notable plays including 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead' and 'The Real Thing'. Stoppard has received multiple Tony Awards and Olivier Awards for his contributions to theatre. more

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“I don't keep a diary and I throw away nearly all the paper I might have kept. I don't keep an archive. There's something worrying about my make-up that I try to leave no trace of myself apart from my plays.”

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Author:Tom Stoppard

“I never had any frustration about writing uncredited. I always felt that the satisfaction of doing it was in the doing of it, really, and getting recognised by the small number of people that know what you did.”

People Knows Writing Felt Numbers Satisfaction Frustration Small Numbers

Author:Tom Stoppard

“I was interested by the idea that artists working in a totalitarian dictatorship or tsarist autocracy are secretly and slightly shamefully envied by artists who work in freedom. They have the gratification of intense interest: the authorities want to put them in jail, while there are younger readers for whom what they write is pure oxygen.”

Want Writing Ideas Artist Interest Reader Pure Authority Intense Jail Dictatorship Oxygen Gratification Envied Autocracy

Author:Tom Stoppard

“As a playwright, you can cover a lot of waterfront without being able to hold your own against an expert in any of those areas. I have no illusions about that.”

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Author:Tom Stoppard

“For a long time I managed to think two things simultaneously, that I am actually a good playwright, and that the next time I write a play I will be revealed as someone who is no good at all.”

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Author:Tom Stoppard

“If the audience is made to do not enough work, they resent it without knowing it. Too much and they get lost. There's a perfect pace to be found. And a perfect place that is different for every line of the play.”

Ifs Made Different Enough Play Found Lost Lines Perfect Audience Knowing Too Much Pace Resent

Author:Tom Stoppard

“It was a different planet in 1967, the Broadway theatre. It had a little ashtray clamped to the back of every seat and the author got 10% of the gross.”

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Author:Tom Stoppard

“The House of Lords, an illusion to which I have never been able to subscribe - responsibility without power, the prerogative of the eunuch throughout the ages.”

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Author:Tom Stoppard

“The idea of the state is, or should be, a very limited, prescribed idea. The state looks after the defense of the realm, and other matters - raising revenue to pay for things which are for all of us, and so on. That idea has turned turtle now. The state isn't any longer perceived as an institution which exists to serve us.”

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Author:Tom Stoppard

“The whole philosophy of modern times is to dissolve distinctions between individuals and deal with them as large collections of people. It's essentially self-interested on the part of authority.”

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Author:Tom Stoppard