Required Readings / Viewings
- Stoppard, Tom. Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead: A Play in Three Acts. Samuel French, 1967. ISBN: 9780412771209.
- ———. The Real Inspector Hound and Other Plays. Grove Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780802135612. [Preview with Google Books]
- ———. Travesties. Grove Press, 1975. ISBN: 9780394499307. [Preview with Google Books]
- ———. Tom Stoppard: Plays 5: Aracadia, The Real Thing, Night & Day, Indian Ink, Hapgood. Vol. 5. Faber & Faber, 2000. ISBN: 9780571197514.
- ———. The Invention of Love. Grove Press, 1998. ISBN: 9780802135810. [Preview with Google Books]
- ———. Rock ’n’ Roll: A New Play. Grove Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780802143075. [Preview with Google Books]
- Churchill, Caryl. Serious Money. Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, 2002. ISBN: 9780413771209.
- ———. A Number. Theatre Communications Group, 2003. ISBN: 9781559362252.
- ———. Top Girls. Methuen Pub Ltd, 1985.
- Smith, Anna Deavere. Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. Dramatists Play Service, Inc., 2002. ISBN: 9780822218418. [Preview with Google Books]
- Barker, Howard. Scenes from an Execution. Oberon Books, 2013. ISBN: 9781849434683. [Preview with Google Books]
- Kohout, Pavel. Poor Murderer: A Play in Two Acts. Samuel French, 1977. ISBN: 9780573614422.
Additional Readings / Viewings
Also to be read or watched (if never read): Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth.
Additional plays, films and readings will serve as the basis for student reports. These may include:
- Beckett, Samuel. “Waiting for Godot.” In The Complete Dramatic Works. Faber & Faber, 1986. ISBN: 9780571138210. [Preview with Google Books]
- The Importance of Being Earnest. Directed by Anthony Asquith. Color, 95 min. Pinewood Studios, 1952.
- Night Must Fall. Directed by Richard Thorpe. Black and White, 116 min. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, 1937.
- Stoppard, Tom. Albert’s Bridge & Other Plays. Grove Press, 1977. ISBN: 9780394170008.
- ———. Jumpers. Grove Press, 1974. ISBN: 9780394178660. [Preview with Google Books]
- ———. The Coast of Utopia: A Trilogy, Voyage, Shipwreck, Salvage. Grove Press, 2007. ISBN: 9780802143402. [Preview with Google Books]
- Lord Byron. The Poetical Works of Lord Byron: Complete in One Volume. D. Appleton and Company, 1847.
- Housman, Alfred Edward. A Shropshire Lad. Dover Publications, 1990. ISBN: 9780486264684. [Preview with Google Books]
- Churchill, Caryl. Cloud Nine. Samuel French, Inc., 1979. ISBN: 9780573618741.
- Frayn, Michael. Copenhagen. Methuen Books, 1998. ISBN: 9780413724908.
- The History Boys. Directed by Nicholas Hytner. Color, 20th Century Fox, 2006.
- Top Girls. Directed by Max Stafford-Clark. Color, 115 min. BBC, 1991.
- Shakespeare in Love. Directed by John Madden. Color, 123 min. Miramax Films, 1998.
- Peter Cook’s Mining Skit (PDF)
- “Beyond the Fringe” and “First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics.” (PDF)
- Farndale, Nigel. “Sir Tom Stoppard Interview,” The Telegraph, January 19, 2010.
- Dunlap, David W. “A Memorial Inscription’s Grim Origins,” New York Times, April 2, 2014.
- & more!
| LEC # | TOPICS | READINGS & VIEWINGS (TO BE COMPLETED BEFORE CLASS) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introductions; British comedy and you | |
| Travesties and Traditions | ||
| 2 | Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1966 / 7). |
Read Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1966 / 7). Watch a film version of Hamlet (if you are unfamiliar with this). |
| 3 | Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, across media. |
Watch the film Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Attend MIT DramaShop’s production of Arcadia. |
| 4 | The Real Inspector Hound (1969 / 70). |
Read The Real Inspector Hound. If you would like to watch a relevant film, check out Night Must Fall. (1937, based on a play by Emlyn Williams)—it isn’t Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, but still has (perhaps more grisly) applicability! |
| 5 | Travesties (1974 / 75); discussion of Aracdia in performance; exchange of essay on Travesties with a partner. |
Watch the film _The Importance of Being Earnest (dir. Anthony Asquith, 1952) of the play (first performed in 1895) by Oscar Wilde, before reading _Travesties. Read Travesties. |
| 6 | Presentations of one another’s ideas about Travesties, with commentary. | Watch the film Top Girls, televised version of the play by Caryl Churchill (dir. Max Stafford-Clark, 1991), and/or read the play. |
| 7 | Travesties and Top Girls (play first performed in 1982). | |
| Serious Comedy | ||
| 8 | Scenes from an Execution (1985 radio version; 1990 staged). | Read Scenes from an Execution. |
| 9 | Scenes from an Execution and Serious Money (1987). | Read Serious Money. |
| 10 | Serious Money; exchange of essay on Serious Money with a partner. | |
| 11 | Hapgood (1988); exchange of reader’s report on partner’s essay on Serious Money. | Read Hapgood. |
| 12 | Hapgood and Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 (1994). | Begin reading Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. |
| 13 | Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. | Finish reading Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. |
| Imagining Beyond | ||
| 14 | Arcadia (1993). | Read Arcadia. |
| 15 | The Invention of Love (1997). | Read The Invention of Love. |
| 16 | Class discussion | |
| 17 | Class discussion | Watch the film Shakespeare in Love, screenplay by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard (1997, dir. John Madden). |
| 18 | Labors of love, where we’ve arrived. |
Read Poor Murderer. Optional: Watch the film The History Boys (2006, dir. Nicholas Hytner, from the Alan Bennett 2004 play). |
| 19 | From Kohout to Cahoot, from Wittgenstein to Dogg. |
Read Dogg’s Hamlet Read Cahoot’s Macbeth. |
| 20 | Class discussion | |
| 21 | Rock ’n’ Roll (2006); voluntary sharing of students’ Stoppardian scenes. | Read Rock ’n’ Roll. |
| 22 | Rock ’n’ Roll. | |
| 23 | Exchange of reader’s report on partner’s major essay / project. | Read A Number. |
| 24 | A Number (2002). | |
| 25 | Student presentations on major project | |
| 26 | Student presentations on major project (cont.) | |
