Tom Stoppard’s, The Real Thing, currently being revived at The Old Vic and directed by Max Webster, is a comedy-drama that explores the complex, interwoven notions of love, adultery and the discovery of the self. Making its debut in London in 1982, the play won the Evening Standard Award for Best Play. It also garnered huge acclaim on Broadway two years later, won four Tony Awards including Best Play, earning accolades for its stars Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close.
The story (hold on tight, reader) revolves around Henry (James McArdle), a playwright who first is married to Charlotte (Susan Wokoma) while he is having an affair with Annie (Bel Powley) whom he eventually marries – both are actresses, and we see them rehearsing, performing, and in ‘real’ life. Henry is a well-known playwright, a stand-in for Stoppard, of course, who is trying to select the appropriate music for his appearance as the next castaway on Desert Island Disks. He is also ghost-writing an autobiographical play by Brodie (Jack Ambrose) a soldier who is being portrayed in Brodie’s play by another actor, Billy (Rilwan Abiola Owokoniran) whom Annie ends up having an affair with. Got that?
Stoppard is a playwright renowned for his wit and wordplay, and this later-stage work explores matters closer to the heart – particularly how marriage can both nurture and frustrate. Some of the evening’s most compelling moments are when Henry and Annie spar in the second act, asking each other if they can withstand, or perhaps even grow stronger from the questions raised by Annie’s affair. If their committed love is ‘real’ love, then does infidelity ipso facto destroy that intimacy – or can it kindle an even deeper understanding of oneself? And do words matter – are they real, or are the emotions they convey more real?
The Old Vic stage is alive with effects and tricks that flip between the real and the theatrical. This echoes the play’s question of what is artifice and what is ‘real.’ Stagehands not only move furniture and change the sets between scenes, but they occasionally break out into dance numbers alongside the actors, or interrupt an intimate seduction scene by hoovering the carpet around the actors. The dark blue set is sparce yet practical, and the lighting is especially fun, with lights flickering on and off, plus a neon-box ceiling that descends and raises for different scenes. A neon-lit sign spelling out THE REAL THING drops in and out of view, reminding us again that we are watching a play, and plays within a play.
The playwright (that is, Stoppard, the ‘real’ one) sets a high bar for any director to reach, and Webster and cast mostly achieve the difficult balance between Stoppard’s intellectual humour and the characters’ fast-paced and witty dialogue, even if the script sometimes feels a bit dated. Stoppard lets each scene begin or end with a 1960’s rock-and-roll single that precisely echoes the characters’ feelings of love and loss.
A fun evening overall, and a delightful reminder of Stoppard’s deserving position as one of our most cherished contemporary playwrights.
Until 26 Oct 2024
Running time: Approximately 2hrs 30mins including a 20-minute interval
By Tom Stoppard
Director: Max Webster
Cast includes: Susan Wokoma; Oliver Johnstone; James McArdle, Bel Powley, Jack Ambrose, Rilwan Abiola Owokoniran, Karise Yansen