I GREW up in an England which I learned to revere as being a place where certain virtues were actually invented, and free expression in the public print was one of them," says Sir Tom Stoppard, arguably Britain's greatest living dramatist. But Sir Tom is worried that the world of letters that he has worked in for almost seven decades isn't as free as it used to be. "People are now deemed to be much more needful of protection from any kind of a rebuke, reproach, criticism," he says. "There's a great sensitivity about how you can talk about anything which might obscurely offend part of the readership." We're sitting underground at the Hampstead Theatre, where the 86-year-old has just come out of a rehearsal for a revival of his play Rock'n'Roll, which debuted at the Royal Court in 2006.
Before we chat, the author of school staple Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Oscar-winning scriptwriter of Shakespeare in Love generously pulls out a chocolate mint bar for us to share. Munching on it, we discuss the new production, and why he wanted to be involved in the Evening Standard's Freedom of Speech campaign.
Sir Tom is a great believer in Britain, particularly for its freedoms, which he once felt we did better than most. Born in what was then Czechoslovakia, he arrived here at the age of eight, via stops in Singapore and India, after his Jewish family had been forced to flee on the day the Nazis invaded. That difficult youth gave Stoppard a lifelong admiration for our free press, and he proudly started a first career in journalism before writing drama.
Bu hikaye Evening Standard dergisinin December 08, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Evening Standard dergisinin December 08, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Only £65k a month to live like Boy George
The Karma Chameleon singer listed his house for £17m in 2022, turning down offers. Now, he's looking for a tenant
Welcome to London, unicorn capital of Europe
We're flying far ahead of anywhere outside US for tech investment
Arteta's Arsenal evolution The next phase
Malik Ouzia and Simon Collings assess how the Spaniard will try to bring down Man City after he signs up for another three years with the title in his sights
Title fight catches fire after Gunners embrace dark side
Arsenal-City clashes take on a welcome edge of animosity
Whack the hippy gong-boho's back
It happened in Paris one grey February day. Sienna Miller was in an oversized, black leather jacket, lace-trimmed silk slip and clumpy great wedges.
There's a Starlink waiting in the sky... 7,000 in fact.Can Elon Musk stop them crashing to Earth?
As he was preparing his fields for seeding this year, Barry Sawchuk came across a giant slab of space debris. It had come from a spacecraft belonging to Elon Musk’s company, SpaceX.
'Politicians are only into power-mongering, corruption and cronyism'
We speak to alt revolutionary DEEPAK CHOPRA about biomarkers, his digital twin and his work to save humanity from disease
I've been waiting for a production of Godotthis brilliant all my life
Ben Whishaw and Lucian Msamati bring a potent, tragicomic chemistry to James Macdonald’s rich revival of Samuel Beckett’s challenging play.
Trust me, the Ritz is London's bestrestaurant
To whom we turn in moments of gloom and glory can be instructive, a filter of our truest friends. I've fallen out with the Ritz a couple of times, including once after a visit to the bar which didn’t warrant a review (“But you said it was lovely!” they said.
'Healing is a dirty word'
After four traumatic years, FKA twigs is back with a new album -and a thrilling metamorphosis