Tom Stoppard on his play Rock 'n' Roll

2008

Speakers: Tom Stoppard

Tom Stoppard discusses his 2006 play Rock 'n Roll, which explores the story of underground Czech rock band the Plastic People of the Universe (PPU). Stoppard begins by sharing his thoughts on the cultural revolution of the 1960s, suggesting that it was harmless and narcissistic 'street theatre' more than anything. He then goes on to explain that, despite being formed directly after the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968, the PPU were formed because of a love of Western pop music, not because of a political agenda. Despite this, they were persecuted by the Czech government and eventually imprisoned. This led Václav Havel (who later became the first President of the Czech Republic) and others to establish Charter 77, a human rights organisation which laid the foundations for the Velvet Revolution of 1989.