The play begins with Max and Charlotte a couple whose marriage seems about to rupture. But nothing one sees on a stage is the real thing and some things are less real than others. Charlotte is an actress who has been appearing in a play about marriage by her husband Henry. Max her leading man is also married to an actress Annie. Both marriages are at the point of rupture because Henry and Annie have fallen in love. But is it the real thing? In The Real Thing Tom Stoppard combines his characteristically brilliant wordplay and wit with flashes of insight that illuminate the nature--and the mystery--of love creating a multi-toned play that challenges the mind while searching out the innermost secrets of the heart.
