--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When people discuss his plays, he says…" description: "\"When people discuss his plays, he says that he feels like he's standing at customs watching an official ransack his luggage. He cheerfully declares res..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0b/tom-stoppard-437_contraband_when-people-discuss-his-plays-he-says-th_1123270.png" --- # When people discuss his plays, he says that he feels like… ![“When people discuss his plays, he says that he feels like he's standing at customs watching an official ransack his luggage. He cheerfully declares responsibility for a play about two people, and suddenly the officer is finding all manner of exotic contraband like the nature of God and identity…” quote by Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0b/tom-stoppard-437_contraband_when-people-discuss-his-plays-he-says-th_1123270.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0b/tom-stoppard-437_contraband_when-people-discuss-his-plays-he-says-th_1123270.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0b/tom-stoppard-437_contraband_when-people-discuss-his-plays-he-says-th_1123270.png) > “When people discuss his plays, he says that he feels like he's standing at customs watching an official ransack his luggage. He cheerfully declares responsibility for a play about two people, and suddenly the officer is finding all manner of exotic contraband like the nature of God and identity, and while he can't deny that they're there, he can't for the life of him remember putting them there. In the end, a play is not the product of an idea; an idea is the product of a play.” [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He likens creating a play to customs inspection, finding unexpected themes like God and identity, suggesting ideas emerge from the play itself. **In simple terms:** Play ideas arise from the play, not the other way around. Key Takeaway Allow the work to reveal its own themes. Themes creativity identity theology Mood reflective inquisitive Type theatrical philosophical When to use this quote - theatre production - script development - creative brainstorming Key Concepts playwriting self‑discovery emergent meaning Questions to Reflect On - What hidden themes surface in your work? - How do you balance structure and surprise? A Different Perspective Ideas may be vague without deliberate shaping. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contraband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contraband/) [Deny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deny/) [Discuss Plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discuss-plays-3050230/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Exotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exotic/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Findings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/findings/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Nature Of God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-god/) [Officers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/officers/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays/) [Plays Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays-says-3050229/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Responsibility Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility-play-811346/) [Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/standing/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) ## Related quotes > [One thing I learned in college is that the coach decides who plays, and when he says to go in there, you play your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brady/one-thing-i-learned-in-college-is-that-the-coach-decides-who-plays/) [Tom Brady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brady/) > [Most people who work in prison earn money through contraband.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/most-people-who-work-in-prison-earn-money-through-contraband/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“We are carrying contraband words with us, memorized, tucked away in tattered journals and stored magically on disks in Anna's left pocket. Canadian words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-e-coyote/we-are-carrying-contraband-words-with-us-memorized-tucked-away-in/) [Ivan E. Coyote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-e-coyote/) > [It's a losing proposition, but one you can't refuse. It's the politics of contraband, it's the smuggler's blues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-frey/it-s-a-losing-proposition-but-one-you-can-t-refuse-it-s-the-politics/) [Glenn Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-frey/) > [“Λαθράνθρωπος, οι = ἂνθρωπος/οι, που λαθραῖα συν~κατα~λέγονται στο εἲδος των ἀνθρῶπων ~ Lathranthrope, Lathranthropes = the person or persons that get smuggled into being included within the Human species neology by Ale3ia”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ale3ia/lathranthrope-lathranthropes-the-person-or-persons-that-get-smuggled/) [Ale3ia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ale3ia/) > [“Something was on him and he couldn't shake it. He couldn't even see it. It was a new weapon of some sort and his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-arquette/something-was-on-him-and-he-couldn-t-shake-it-he-couldn-t-even-see-it/) [Brett Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-arquette/) > [“Ordering and taking delivery on the supplies and other things they needed took ingenuity and finesse, but both were Win's specialty. Contraband that would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcha-a-fox/ordering-and-taking-delivery-on-the-supplies-and-other-things-they/) [Marcha A. Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcha-a-fox/) > [Hope is a contraband passed from hand to hand and story to story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/hope-is-a-contraband-passed-from-hand-to-hand-and-story-to-story/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [“While we've painted the guardians of the pale in a somewhat reactionary light, let's give the gatekeepers their due. What lies beyond the pale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-kotler/while-we-ve-painted-the-guardians-of-the-pale-in-a-somewhat/) [Steven Kotler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-kotler/) > [Love is contraband in Hell, cause love is an acid that eats away bars. But you, me, and tomorrow hold hands and make vows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assata-shakur/love-is-contraband-in-hell-cause-love-is-an-acid-that-eats-away-bars/) [Assata Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/assata-shakur/) > [“SHOULD CIRCUMSTANCE PREVENT a man from carrying his cigarettes and cell phone in his pants pocket, the rectum provides a workable alternative. So workable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/should-circumstance-prevent-a-man-from-carrying-his-cigarettes-and/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [Cause POP POP POP it goes my rubber band. So STOP STOP STOP sniffin that contraband.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-minaj/cause-pop-pop-pop-it-goes-my-rubber-band-so-stop-stop-stop-sniffin/) [Nicki Minaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-minaj/) > [“Morality is a contraband in war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/morality-is-a-contraband-in-war/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Goods produced under conditions which do not meet a rudimentary standard to decency should be regarded as contraband and not allowed to pollute the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/goods-produced-under-conditions-which-do-not-meet-a-rudimentary/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) ## More by Tom Stoppard > [If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-the-last-thing-i-would-do-is-write-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [If you want to change something by Tuesday, theater is no good. Journalism is what does that. But, if you want to just alter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-you-want-to-change-something-by-tuesday-theater-is-no-good/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [After all these years, I definitely associate having a pen in my hand with having an ashtray just out of eye line.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/after-all-these-years-i-definitely-associate-having-a-pen-in-my-hand/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [The universe is deterministic all right, just like Newton said, I mean it's trying to be, but the only thing going wrong is people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/the-universe-is-deterministic-all-right-just-like-newton-said-i-mean/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [For me, human rights simply endorse a view of life and a set of moral values that are perfectly clear to an eight-year-old child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-me-human-rights-simply-endorse-a-view-of-life-and-a-set-of-moral/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [“What is an artist? For every thousand people there's nine hundred doing the work, ninety doing well, nine doing good, and one lucky bastard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/what-is-an-artist-for-every-thousand-people-there-s-nine-hundred/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Dying is not romantic, and death is not a game which will soon be over... Death is not anything... death is not... It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/dying-is-not-romantic-and-death-is-not-a-game-which-will-soon-be-over/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I'm not interested in clothes; I just like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-m-not-interested-in-clothes-i-just-like-them/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [For 10 years of my life, 3 times a day, I thanked the Lord for what I was about to receive and thanked him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/for-10-years-of-my-life-3-times-a-day-i-thanked-the-lord-for-what-i/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [You should not translate for more than two hours at a time. After that, you lose your edge, the language becomes clumsy, rigid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/you-should-not-translate-for-more-than-two-hours-at-a-time-after-that/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [No matter how imperfect things are, if you've got a free press everything is correctable, and without it everything is concealable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/no-matter-how-imperfect-things-are-if-you-ve-got-a-free-press/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [We must be born with an intuition of mortality. Before we know the word for it. Before we know that there are words. Out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/we-must-be-born-with-an-intuition-of-mortality-before-we-know-the/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Eternity's a terrible thought. I mean, where's it all going to end?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/eternity-s-a-terrible-thought-i-mean-where-s-it-all-going-to-end/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [There is truth and falsehood in a comma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/there-is-truth-and-falsehood-in-a-comma/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) [Explore all 559 Tom Stoppard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) ## More Contraband quotes > [Most people who work in prison earn money through contraband.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/most-people-who-work-in-prison-earn-money-through-contraband/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“Morality is a contraband in war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/morality-is-a-contraband-in-war/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Cause POP POP POP it goes my rubber band. So STOP STOP STOP sniffin that contraband.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-minaj/cause-pop-pop-pop-it-goes-my-rubber-band-so-stop-stop-stop-sniffin/) [Nicki Minaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-minaj/) > [“SHOULD CIRCUMSTANCE PREVENT a man from carrying his cigarettes and cell phone in his pants pocket, the rectum provides a workable alternative. So workable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/should-circumstance-prevent-a-man-from-carrying-his-cigarettes-and/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [Love is contraband in Hell, cause love is an acid that eats away bars. But you, me, and tomorrow hold hands and make vows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assata-shakur/love-is-contraband-in-hell-cause-love-is-an-acid-that-eats-away-bars/) [Assata Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/assata-shakur/) > [“While we've painted the guardians of the pale in a somewhat reactionary light, let's give the gatekeepers their due. What lies beyond the pale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-kotler/while-we-ve-painted-the-guardians-of-the-pale-in-a-somewhat/) [Steven Kotler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-kotler/) > [Hope is a contraband passed from hand to hand and story to story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/hope-is-a-contraband-passed-from-hand-to-hand-and-story-to-story/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [“Ordering and taking delivery on the supplies and other things they needed took ingenuity and finesse, but both were Win's specialty. Contraband that would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcha-a-fox/ordering-and-taking-delivery-on-the-supplies-and-other-things-they/) [Marcha A. Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcha-a-fox/) > [“Something was on him and he couldn't shake it. He couldn't even see it. It was a new weapon of some sort and his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-arquette/something-was-on-him-and-he-couldn-t-shake-it-he-couldn-t-even-see-it/) [Brett Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-arquette/) > [“Λαθράνθρωπος, οι = ἂνθρωπος/οι, που λαθραῖα συν~κατα~λέγονται στο εἲδος των ἀνθρῶπων ~ Lathranthrope, Lathranthropes = the person or persons that get smuggled into being included within the Human species neology by Ale3ia”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ale3ia/lathranthrope-lathranthropes-the-person-or-persons-that-get-smuggled/) [Ale3ia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ale3ia/) > [It's a losing proposition, but one you can't refuse. It's the politics of contraband, it's the smuggler's blues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-frey/it-s-a-losing-proposition-but-one-you-can-t-refuse-it-s-the-politics/) [Glenn Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-frey/) > [“Λαθρανθρωπία = το να συν~κατα~λέγεται λαθραῖα ἒνα ἂτομο/α, στο εἲδος των ἀνθρῶπων. ~ Lathranthropia = the smuggled inclusion of a person or persons within the Human species. neology by Ale3ia”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ale3ia/lathranthropia-the-smuggled-inclusion-of-a-person-or-persons-within/) [Ale3ia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ale3ia/) > [“We are carrying contraband words with us, memorized, tucked away in tattered journals and stored magically on disks in Anna's left pocket. Canadian words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-e-coyote/we-are-carrying-contraband-words-with-us-memorized-tucked-away-in/) [Ivan E. Coyote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-e-coyote/) > [Goods produced under conditions which do not meet a rudimentary standard to decency should be regarded as contraband and not allowed to pollute the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/goods-produced-under-conditions-which-do-not-meet-a-rudimentary/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [Morality is contraband in war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/morality-is-contraband-in-war/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) [Browse all 15 Contraband quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contraband/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When people discuss his plays, he says that he feels like he's standing at customs watching an official ransack his luggage. 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