‘You couldn’t have found an easier person to talk to, even though he was a genius’ – Irish theatre colleagues pay tribute to Tom Stoppard

Friends recall humility, humour and generosity of a legend who loved to bring his work here

Tom Stoppard in the Gate Theatre’s green room in 2009. Photo: Anthony Woods

Tom Stoppard, who died last Saturday aged 88, was last week described as an “intellectual magician” by the New York Times, and a playwright of “dazzling wit” famed for the “hypnotised brilliance” of his dialogue.

Tributes to his “blistering intellect” (the New York Times again) have been penned by director Joe Wright ­(Atonement, Anna Karenina) and writer Patrick ­Marber (Notes on a Scandal, Closer) among many others.