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This production is recommended for ages 14+.
Performance dates
28 August - 26 October 2024
Run time TBC
Includes interval
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The Real Thing London Tickets
Tom Stoppard’s kaleidoscopic comedy of love and infidelity returns to The Old Vic! Directed by Tony and Olivier award winner, Max Webster, and starring James McArdle (Mare of Easttown) and Bel Powley (The Morning Show), book your official tickets to The Real Thing today.
What is The Real Thing about?
Annie is an actress, Henry is a playwright, and fiction is the backdrop to life. Hardly a recipe for a faithful marriage, especially when it started as an affair. But does it matter how it began if what they have is the real thing?
A complex and layered examination on the nature of art and reality, Stoppard's intricate play blends fact and fiction and has been described as one of the playwrights most popular, enduring and autobiographical plays.
Facts and critical acclaim
- The Real Thing won ‘Best Play’ at the Tonys, Drama Desk Awards and Evening Standard Awards, and has been listed by critic Michael Billington as one of the 101 greatest plays ever written.
- Max Webster has directed major productions in London at The Donmar Warehouse, The Old Vic, The Globe and English National Opera. His production of Life of Pi saw him pick up an Olivier and Tony award for Best Director.
- James McArdle starred alongside Andrew Garfield and Denise Gough in the critically acclaimed Angles in America. His performance saw him nominated for five awards, including an Olivier.
- Bel Powley won the Cannes Film Festival Trophée Chopard - Female Revelation award for her performance in The Diary of a Teenage Girl. She picked up a further three wins and 17 nominations for her breakthrough role.
The Real Thing cast
- James McArdle
- Bel Powley
Further casting to be announced
The Real Thing creatives
- Book – Tom Stoppard
- Director – Max Webster
Further creatives to be announced