Some of the most accessible Stoppard, especially "Professional Foul", a television play that makes excellent use of the medium. ( )

This 70-minute one act play is a truly unique collaboration between playwright Tom Stoppard and composer Andre Previn. It is a play for Actors and Symphony Orchestra that calls for musicians on stage, interacting with the actors and providing live music that at times slips into the background, at other times takes center stage, and communicates insights into the characters thoughts, personalities, and states of mind.

The story is fairly simple. It is set in the Soviet Union in an era when political dissidents were deemed insane and confined to asylums with the truly crazy people. Two people with identical names share a cell - one is really crazy (he plays triangle in an imaginary orchestra), the other has been institutionalized because he claims the government is throwing dissidents into insane asylums. Unfortunately, it is the kind of work which only works in a live performance. Reading the script or listening to a recording of the soundtrack doesn't begin to do it justice. If you should ever have the opportunity to see a rare live performance, it's definitely worth your while. ( )

Two cracking plays from Tom Stoppard, full of linguistic fireworks, funny and thought-provoking ( )