Acclaimed actors from stage and screen have come together to share their personal and profound experiences of working with the legendary playwright Sir Tom Stoppard. Their recollections paint a portrait of a theatrical giant whose brilliance was matched only by his kindness and collaborative spirit.
Rufus Sewell: A Loan of Intellect
Rufus Sewell first worked with Stoppard on the 1993 production of Arcadia and later on Rock'n'Roll in 2006. He describes the playwright as one of the most intelligent people you could meet, yet someone who made you feel clever in his presence. "You felt he had loaned his magnificent intellect to you," Sewell remarked, noting this generosity extended to his work. He recalled the unique sensation of leaving a Stoppard play buzzing with ideas, only for the precise explanations to evaporate by the time one reached Hammersmith.
Sewell shared a memorable anecdote from the night before his Arcadia audition, when a knock came at his dressing room door. A distinctive voice announced, "It's Tom Stoppard." After hastily covering himself with a towel, Sewell opened the door to find Stoppard offering encouragement, saying, "I'm on your side." This gesture, though the audition process remained arduous, gave the young actor immense confidence.
In rehearsals, Sewell observed Stoppard's keen eye for ensuring the dialogue never felt too "writerly." Despite the plays' intellectual heft, Stoppard insisted on a natural, blokey quality, even knowing the nuanced difference between words like "dick" and "prick."
Christine Baranski: Swimming in a Mind Pool
For Christine Baranski, starring in the 1984 Broadway production of The Real Thing – which won multiple Tony Awards – was a career highlight, though it initially filled her with doubt. "I'd go home at night thinking: I'm not smart enough to be in this play. I'm going to have to fake it," she admitted. The challenge, she said, was measuring up to the "dazzling wit" of the text. She described the experience as "swimming in the mind pool of Tom Stoppard," a privileged and elevated place akin to performing Shakespeare.
Baranski recently hosted Stoppard at her apartment, using an ashtray she had kept from a Parisian brasserie where she once saw him with Mick Jagger. She remembers him as a stylish, Wildean figure, universally adored by the cast. "He enjoyed being Tom Stoppard – and was sort of an invention," she reflected, alluding to his early life as Tomáš Sträussler.
Susan Wokoma & Toby Jones: A Lasting Legacy
Susan Wokoma felt profound honour being cast in a major revival of The Real Thing during Stoppard's lifetime. Despite his serious illness during rehearsals, he remained a WhatsApp message away, answering the cast's questions. The company's desire to make him proud intensified when, against medical advice, he attended a preview. After the show, he told the cast, "This is the last time I'll see this play," before adding with characteristic wit, "But I'll outlive all of you."
Toby Jones highlighted Stoppard's conceptual stagecraft in works like Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, which featured a live on-stage orchestra. Jones, whose father once shared a house with Stoppard, noted the playwright's warmth and personability, which belied his formidable intellect. He emphasised that Stoppard's plays masterfully blend a "collision of ideas" with genuine, gut-level comedy and "cracking gags."
Harriet Walter: From Skivvy to Star
Dame Harriet Walter provided a unique long-view perspective. At 18, she was a props skivvy for the world premiere of After Magritte and treasures the £5 book token Stoppard gave her on opening night – a gesture of kindness she never forgot. Years later, she played Lady Croom in the first production of Arcadia in 1993. She described the ecstasy of delivering lines so funny the audience's laughter would drown her out.
Walter sees the young genius Thomasina in Arcadia as a reflection of Stoppard himself: endlessly curious, cerebral, passionate, and playful. She believes the play's great achievement is ending the art versus science division, illustrating "the imaginative beauty of science and the calculated order within art."
Together, these testimonies from Rufus Sewell, Christine Baranski, Susan Wokoma, Toby Jones, and Harriet Walter create a multifaceted tribute to a man whose work and personal grace have left an indelible mark on modern theatre.
