649 Quotes by Tom Stoppard

I write scenes – often quite long scenes – mainly because I still get seduced into writing six lines where one and a half will do.

Fifty-five crystal spheres geared to God’s crankshaft is my idea of a satisfying universe. I can’t think of anything more trivial than quarks, quasars, big bangs and black holes.

You can’t but know that if you can capture the emotions of the audience as well as their minds, the play will work better, because it’s a narrative art form.

Theater is a recreation. It can be much more, but unless it’s recreation, I don’t see the point of it.

From as long as, literally as far back as I can remember I’ve liked puns, word jokes, I can literally recall looking at a comic at the age of six or seven and I remember what I enjoyed and what it was precisely and how the joke worked.

If you were handed power on a plate you’d be left fighting over a plate.

Gallons of ink and miles of typewriter ribbon expended on the misery of the unrequited lover; not a word about the utter tedium of the unrequiting.

Be happy – if you’re not even happy, what’s so good about surviving?

Player: Relax. Respond. That’s what people do. You can’t go through life question your sitution at every turn.