(1937– )
a British writer of plays, born in Czechoslovakia. His plays are noted for discussing philosophical questions in a clever and humorous way. They include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1967), Jumpers (1972), Travesties (1974), Arcadia (1993), The Invention of Love (1997) and The Coast of Utopia (2002). He has also written many film scripts, including Shakespeare in Love (1998). Stoppard was made a knight in 1997.