HENRY, the hero of Tom Stoppard's ''Real Thing,'' is an English playwright of unbeatable intellectual prowess. He knows how to make words ''go on replicating themselves like a spiral of DNA'' and how to ad lib a brilliant rejoinder to any question. Both in life and in the theater, he can always get the last word and the smartest laugh. But there's one question Henry can't so easily answer or write about or joke away: What is this thing called love?
'A play which reminds you why you go to the theatre and why you fall in love. And why, just sometimes, it is all worth the effort.' The Spectator
Deeply moving and startlingly funny, Tom Stoppard's razor sharp drama brilliantly examines the complex nature of love, art and reality. Anna Mackmin directs an outstanding cast including Barnaby Kay, Hattie Morahan, Toby Stephens and Fenella Woolgar in this multi-award winning modern classic.
Consistently wise and witty Tom Stoppard is one of the most important writers of our time. He is the recipient of four Tony Awards, four Critics' Circle Awards, seven Evening Standard Awards, an Olivier, Academy and BAFTA Award. His film credits include Shakespeare in Love, Enigma and
Empire of the Sun. Theatre credits include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Jumpers, Coast of Utopia, Rock 'N' Roll and Arcadia.
Anna Mackmin returns to The Old Vic following the great success of Dancing at Lughnasa in 2009. Her most recent directorial credits include Really Old, Like Forty Five and Burn/Chatroom/Citizenship (National), Hedda Gabler (Gate Theatre, Dublin), Under the Blue Sky and In Celebration (Duke of York's) and Dying for It (Almeida).
Barnaby Kay's television credits include the recent ITV production of Wuthering Heights and he was last seen on stage playing Mitch in A Street Car Named Desire (Donmar).
Hattie Morahan's television and film work includes Lark Rise to Candleford, Sense and Sensibility and The Golden Compass. She was recently seen in Family Reunion (Donmar) and Some Trace of Her (National).
Toby Stephens's extensive television and film credits include the BBC adaptation of Jane Eyre and Die Another Day. Recent theatre credits include A Doll?s House (Donmar) and The Country Wife (Theatre Royal Haymarket).
Fenella Woolgar has recently completed filming on Woody Allen's latest project after previously appearing in his film Scoop, her other film credits include Mike Leigh's Vera Drake. Her most recent stage credit was Time and the Conways (National).
