Obituary: the dazzling, clever playwright who became an adjective

Tom Stoppard attends An Evening with Joe Wright at The Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York City in 2012. Photos: Getty Images SIR TOM STOPPARD  Playwright   "What's it about?" was a frequent response from bemused theatre-goers to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Sir Tom Stoppard’s first stage triumph.