| 1937 |
Born Thomas Straussler July 3rd Zlin,
Czechoslovakia, second son of Dr. Eugene Straussler, a doctor employed by
the Bata shoe company.
|
| 1939 |
Family moved to Singapore to escape the Nazis. |
| 1942 |
Evacuated to India with his mother and brother before
the Japanese invasion. His father remained behind and died
in enemy hands
|
| 1946 |
Tom's mother married Kenneth Stoppard, a major
in the British army in India. The family moved to England
|
| 1946 |
Tom attended school, first in Nottinghamshire and
then public school in Yorkshire
|
| 1954 |
On leaving school at 17, Tom became
a journalist on the Western Daily Press in Bristol
|
| 1958 |
Joined the Bristol Evening World
as news reporter, feature writer, theatre and film critic
|
| 1960 |
Gave up his job, and contracted to write
two weekly columns to support him, wrote his first play - later called Enter a Free Man
|
| 1963 |
Wrote short stories and was commissioned to write a novel. A Walk on the Water was televised in Britain
and performed on stage in Hamburg, Germany
|
| 1964 |
BBC Radio broadcast his
and
|
| 1965 |
Married Josie Ingle: they had two sons and divorced
in 1971. He wrote 70 episodes of A Student's Diary about
an Arab student in London for BBC World Service. His play was performed at Bristol University
|
| 1966 |
broadcast on BBC Radio;
on BBC TV.
A co-translation of a work by Slawomir Mrozek was presented
by the RSC in London
received
its first performance, by the Oxford Theatre Group, as part of the
Edinburgh Festival fringe.
The novel was published
|
| 1967 |
presented
by the National Theatre at the Old Vic;
and broadcast on BBC TV;
was broadcast on BBC Radio,
and won the prestigious Prix Italia in 1968.
Stoppard was presented with the
John Whiting Award and an Evening Standard Drama Award for
Rosencrantz
|
| 1968 |
was the first Stoppard to open in
London's West End;
was also performed in the West End;
was televised by Thames TV
|
| 1970 |
was presented at a lunch-hour theatre club in London;
written for and broadcast by BBC Schools Radio
|
| 1971 |
staged at Almost Free Theatre
|
| 1972 |
staged by the National Theatre (NT) at the Old Vic
broadcast on BBC Radio.
Tom married Dr. Miriam Moore-Robinson; they divorced in the early 1990's
|
| 1973 |
Stoppard's adaptation of Lorca's was performed at the Greenwich Theatre
Stoppard directed a production of Garson Kanin's Born Yesterday
at the same theatre
|
| 1974 |
staged by the Royal Shakespeare
Company (RSC) at London's Aldwych Theatre
|
| 1975 |
Stoppard contributed a piece co-written with Clive Exton to the BBC's series of half-hour plays written, produced
and performed live all within a week. Their play was called , a very funny piece in the After Magritte mould.
The Romantic Englishwoman was a film directed by Joseph Losey for which Stoppard
wrote the screenplay; it was based upon a novel by Thomas Wiseman who collaborated on the script.
|
| 1976 |
were written for Ed Berman and directed by Stoppard at the
Almost-Free Theatre opening on 6th April to coincide with his British
naturalization; transferred to the Arts theatre in the West End.
He also adapted Shakespeare for Ed Berman viz.
|
| 1977 |
co-written with composer/conductor
André Previn, was performed at the Royal Festival Hall in London with
the full London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Previn. It was later televised
was televised by the BBC. Both works
concern the treatment of dissidents in Eastern Europe;
in fact in Every Good Boy the 'treatment' is in an insane asylum
|
| 1978 |
was Stoppard's first play written for 'The West End',
rather than for the RSC, NT, or small theatre groups like Ed Berman's.
Its stars were Diana Rigg and John Thaw and it discussed the ethical
dilemmas faced by journalists.
Despair a film script for director Rainer Werner Fassbinder
based upon Vladimir Nabakov's novel
|
| 1979 |
performed at Warwick University.
The NT presented Stoppard's , an adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's
Das Weite Land
|
| 1980 |
Wrote the film script for Graham Greene's The Human Factor.
The film was directed by Otto Preminger
|
| 1981 |
a play adapted from an Austrian
original Einen Jux will er sich machen by Johann Nestroy
was presented by the National Theatre. It was later adapted for television
|
| 1982 |
'a marital tragi-comedy'
produced at the Strand Theatre in London.
broadcast on BBC radio.
It was also televised in 1984
|
| 1984 |
a musical play produced at the NT adapted from Molnar's
Play at the Castle. Not successful with critics or most audiences,
though we enjoyed it!
a television play directed by Mike Hodges set
in Poland about Solidarity and its leader Lech Walesa
|
| 1985 |
Brazil screenplay co-written with Charles McKeown and the film's
director Terry Gilliam
|
| 1986 |
a play adapted from Schnitzler for the NT.
adapted from Vacláv
Havel for production at Bristol Old Vic
|
| 1987 |
Empire of the Sun screenplay for
director Steven Spielberg based upon J G Ballard's novel
|
| 1988 |
staged by the RSC at the Aldwych
|
| 1989 |
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Steven Spielberg's
film starring Harrison Ford and Sean Connery included an
uncredited writing contribution from Stoppard
|
| 1990 |
The Russia House screenplay from John Le Carré's novel.
directed by Fred Schepisi.
Stoppard directed a movie version of his play
. It starred
Gary Oldman and Tim Roth, with Richard Dreyfuss as the First Player
|
| 1991 |
BBC Radio play starring
Felicity Kendal and Peggy Ashcroft
Billy Bathgate screenplay for
director Robert Benton based upon E L Doctorow's
novel, starring Dustin Hoffman and Nicole Kidman
|
| 1993 |
produced at the NT, transferring to the West End and US
|
| 1995 |
a stage adaptation of opened in the West End with Felicity Kendal
|
| 1997 |
produced at the NT
|
| 1998 |
Stoppard co-wrote the screen play
for the movie with Marc Norman. It won the 1999 Oscar for best screenplay.
The movie is directed by John Madden and stars Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Poodle Springs was a TV movie which Stoppard based
upon Raymond Chandler. It was directed by Bob Rafelson and starred James
Caan as Philip Marlowe. Unusually Tom Stoppard was supposed to appear
in an acting rôle, but when we watched it on TV, we
didn't spot him.
Not a good movie.
|
| 1999 |
Vatel screenplay co-written with Jeanne Labrune for
director Roland Joffé
Enigma screenplay based upon Robert Harris's novel
set among the World War II codebreakers at Britain's Bletchley Park.
The movie was directed by Michael Apted
and starred Kate Winslet and Dougray Scott |
| 2000 |
Stoppard chosen as member of the Order of Merit by
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. Membership of the Order is a personal gift
of the Queen, unlike knighthoods which are awarded on the advice of
government ministers. The order is limited to twenty-four members at a time.
|
| 2002 |
The Coast of Utopia a trilogy written for
The National Theatre about romantics and
revolutionaries in Russia in the middle of the
nineteenth century. Actors Will Keen, Eve Best and Guy Henry outstanding |
| 2004 |
Jumpers
revived at the NT starring Simon Russell-Beale
and Essie Davis |
| 2006 |
Rock and Roll about the fall of Communism
in Stoppard's country of birth, Czechoslovakia
|
| 2007 |
The Bourne Ultimatum co-writer of
the screenplay of the next in the Bourne series
The Coast of Utopia trilogy wins a
record seven Tony Awards for its Broadway run
including best play, best director for Jack
O'Brien and best leading actors: Billy Crudup
and Jennifer Ehle. |
| 2008 |
Bond 22 Co-writer on the
screenplay of the next, as yet untitled, James
Bond movie following Casino Royale |
