The College of the Canyons theatre department will present its production of “The Real Thing” in the Black Box Theatre for a six-night run beginning Oct. 7.

Written by four-time Tony Award winner Tom Stoppard, “The Real Thing” is a play set in 1980s London that examines the nature of honesty, love, and marriage. A play within a play, the production explores appearances verses reality through the relationship between Annie, an activist and actress, and Henry, a playwright.

“Love is the subject at the heart of so many literary work,” said Randee Trabtiz, director of the COC production. “Tom Stoppard is the craftiest of wordsmiths. His love of language and verbal wit is in evidence in his 50 years worth of plays.”

The cast and crew is comprised solely of College of the Canyons theatre students.

First performed at London’s The Strand Theatre in 1982, “The Real Thing” went on to win a Tony Award for Best Play in 1984.

Frank Rich of the New York Times called Stoppard’s “The Real Thing” his “most moving play, but also the most bracing play that anyone has written about love and marriage in years.”

Knighted in 1997, Tom Stoppard is also known for his plays “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,” “Arcadia” and the Academy Award-winning screenplay for “Shakespeare in Love.”

Performances of the COC theatre department’s production of “The Real Thing” will take place at 8 p.m. Oct. 7-8 and Oct. 14-15. Matinee performances will run at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9 and 16.

General admission tickets are $10. Students and seniors are $5.

For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact the PAC box office at (661) 362-5304 or visit www.canyonsPAC.com.

More about the COC Theatre Department

Part of the college’s School of Visual and Performing Arts, the COC theatre department offers a highly regarded transfer program with three degree options available to students in the field.

Students interested in attending a COC theatre department performance or learning more about the program are encouraged to email theatre@canyons.edu.

For more information about the College of the Canyons theatre department please visit www.canyons.edu/departments/theatre or like us on Facebook by visiting www.facebook.com/COCTheatreDept.