Sir Tom Stoppard: King praises playwright as ‘one of our greatest writers’

King Charles III and Queen Camilla have led tributes to the famous playwright Sir Tom Stoppard, who has died aged 88, hailing him as “one of our greatest writers”.

“A dear friend who wore his genius lightly, could, and did, turn his pen to any subject, challenging, moving and inspiring his audiences, drawing on his own personal story,” they said.

Sir Tom, winner of an Oscar and a Golden Globe for the screenplay of Shakespeare In Love, “died peacefully at his home in Dorset, surrounded by his family,” his agents said on Saturday.

Tributes have poured in from around the world to the playwright who captivated audiences for more than six decades with works that explored philosophical and political themes.

The King and Queen added they were “deeply saddened” by Sir Tom’s death and sent their condolences to his family.

“We send our deepest condolences to his beloved family. Let us all take comfort in his immortal phrase: ‘Consider every exit as an entrance to another place.'”

The line is from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, one of his most notable stage works that also includes The Real Thing.

Paying tribute to his “favourite playwright”, Sir Mick Jagger posted on social media: “He leaves us with a majestic body of intellectual and entertaining work. I will always miss him.”

Author Robert Harris, a friend of Sir Tom, praised his talent and joy in life.

“He lived one of the most enviable lives I can imagine. He was immensely talented, a very happy man, very witty and enjoyed life. He came to lunch here in the summer and was still smoking and, in fact, was taking notes over the summer to write,” the Times reported.

The Australian-British author of the 1979 novel Puberty Blues, Kathy Lette, remembered Sir Tom as “one of the wittiest people I have ever met”.

Sharing a photo of them on social media, she wrote: “A conversation with him left you stunned by an irreverent and imaginative joke.”

Sir Tom received many honors and accolades throughout his career, including being knighted by the late Queen for his services to literature in 1997.

He also wrote for film, television and radio. He adapted Leo Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina for the 2012 film starring Keira Knightley and Jude Law.

In 2020, he released his new semi-autobiographical work titled Leopoldstadt, set in the Jewish quarter of early 20th century Vienna, which later earned him an Olivier Award for Best New Play and four Tony Awards.

Nicholas Hytner, who directed Stoppard’s play The Hard Problem at the National Theater in London 10 years ago, celebrated the playwright’s “astonishing generosity and curiosity about the work of others.”

“He was a great writer and a legendary host, but those of us who were lucky enough to know and work with him will remember him as an exceptional person who improved the lives he touched,” according to The Guardian.

The Olivier Awards organisation, which recognizes excellence in theatre, said West End theaters would dim their lights for two minutes at 7pm BST on December 2 to remember the playwright.

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“That recognition attests to the remarkable range and lasting impact of his work on both stage and screen,” he said.

Rupert Goold, artistic director of the Almeida Theatre, described Sir Tom as “the most caring and generous man” whose “magic was present in everything he wrote”.

Born Tomas Straussler in Czechoslovakia, his parents fled the impending Nazi occupation when he was still a baby and went to Singapore, where his father died in a Japanese prison camp.

He, his mother and brother had escaped the Japanese invasion before and went first to Australia and then to India. There her mother met and married an Englishman, Major Kenneth Stoppard, before moving to England.

He later learned from his relatives that his four grandparents had been Jewish and had died in Nazi concentration camps.

“I feel incredibly lucky that I didn’t have to survive or die. It’s a visible part of what you could call a charmed life,” he told the American magazine Talk in 1999, while reflecting on his return to his birthplace, Zlin, in what is now the Czech Republic.

Lyricist Sir Tim Rice said he “was amazed by almost everything” Sir Tom did.

“He was able to mix intellectual arguments and philosophical thinking with pure wit and fun and that was evident in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, which was his first big hit, and I was still very amazed by him, but he also became a friend and it was a great honor for me to know him,” he told BBC News.

“He has written at least half a dozen, probably twice as many, works that will last a long, long time; however brilliant the works are, many of them do not last much beyond their time, but I think Tom Stoppard’s will, without a doubt.”