The recent passing of Sir Tom Stoppard has prompted an outpouring of tributes, not only from the theatrical establishment but from individuals whose lives were quietly touched by the playwright. A collection of letters published in response to obituaries reveals lesser-known facets of Stoppard's life, his enduring collaborations, and the profound personal impact of his journey from a nine-year-old Czech refugee to a towering figure of British letters.
Community Arts and a Lasting Collaboration
One significant revelation details Stoppard's deep and fruitful collaboration with the community arts pioneer Ed Berman. In 1971, Stoppard wrote at length about working with Berman, an American who later became a British citizen. The two shared a jokey libertarian spirit that often masked a serious artistic purpose.
Their partnership bore significant fruit. Stoppard's early play After Magritte was staged at Berman's Ambiance theatre in London. He later wrote plays for Inter-Action, the ambitious community arts company Berman founded. Among these was Dirty Linen, a satire on political sexual indiscretions, which contained a short piece titled New-Found-Land based on Berman's own citizenship application.
This collaboration had a tangible legacy. The subsequent four-year run of Dirty Linen at the Arts Theatre provided a steady stream of royalties to fund Inter-Action's work. The organisation became a major social force, pioneering city farms, IT training, and even operating from a converted minesweeper on the Thames. Stoppard himself hailed Inter-Action as "an astounding monument" to Berman's vision.
Philosophical Foundations and Unspoken Histories
Another letter sheds light on the intellectual foundations of Stoppard's work. In the 1950s, while working as a journalist in Bristol, Stoppard attended evening classes in philosophy taught by the Czech refugee philosopher Stephan Körner. The two developed a fast friendship that lasted decades.
Körner's daughter notes that her father was delighted by the portrait of a philosopher in Stoppard's play Jumpers. The friendship extended to Stoppard's brother, Peter, who became the Körner family's accountant. Intriguingly, the letter suggests that despite their long friendship and shared background as Czech Jews, Stoppard and the Körners may never have explicitly discussed this profound common history.
A Playwright's Favourite and Lasting Fascinations
Beyond his famous works like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, readers highlighted other gems. One correspondent pointed out that Stoppard's personal favourite was The Invention of Love, a play exploring the dual life of poet and scholar A.E. Housman. Stoppard was fascinated by Housman as "the man who was two men".
The research for this play was monumental, with 85 volumes on Housman and Roman poets piled on his desk during its three-year gestation. This fascination endured, with Stoppard serving as a vice-president of the Housman Society and contributing scholarly articles linking Housman's unrequited love to classical tragedy.
Other early works were also celebrated for their perfection within a comedic frame: the radio play Albert's Bridge (1967), starring John Hurt, and the meta-theatrical murder mystery The Real Inspector Hound (1968).
A Personal and Cultural Impact
The letters collectively paint a picture of a writer whose work resonated on deeply personal levels. One reader recalled how Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead spoke directly to the confusion of his youth, making him feel less alone. Another shared a charming anecdote of a daughter naming her goldfish after the play's protagonists.
The correspondence concludes with a poignant reflection on Stoppard's origins. In 1946, amidst millions of postwar refugees, a nine-year-old Tomáš Sträussler found safety and a home in Britain. This act of offering room, as one letter writer simply states, was a very good thing indeed—a sentiment echoed by the immense cultural legacy that the boy, who became Tom Stoppard, leaves behind.
