Global Voices: Tom Stoppard in Conversation

It’s been almost forty years since Stoppard wrote Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, the play in which he first used the conceit of the play within a play. Since then, the English playwright has boldly taken up such themes as divorce, chaos theory, Platonic philosophy, quantum mechanics, and the intellectual underpinnings of the Russian Revolution, treating them with a startling combination of sublime theatricality, exceptional intelligence, and unparalleled wit. This fall’s production of Stoppard’s The Real Thing at the Guthrie should provide a jumping-off point for a rousing discussion with Joe Dowling. Here’s hoping they’ll break into the questions game from R & G or the limerick skirmishes from Travesties. 612-377-2224; www.guthrietheater.org