Tom Stoppard

Playwright, Rough Crossing

Sir Tom Stoppard is a Czech-born playwright. He began his career in England in 1954 as a journalist, soon moving to London in 1960 to start his work as a playwright. His first play A Walk on the Water (1960), which was televised in 1963, soon reached London with a stage version titled Enter a Free Man (1968). His next work, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1964-65), showed at the 1966 Edinburgh Festival to rave reviews. It became internationally known in 1967 after it was entered into Britain's National Theatre. Additional work includes stage plays Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1978), The Real Thing (1982) and Rock n' Roll (2006). Over the course of his career he has written for radio, television, film and stage. In 1988 he co-wrote the Academy Award winning screenplay for the film Shakespeare In Love.