A contemporary classic, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead was an instant hit for the young Tom Stoppard when he presented it in 1966 on the fringe of the Edinburgh Festival.
Stoppard has since gone on to become one of the 20th Century's leading playwrights and 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead' remains one of his most popular plays. Highly acclaimed, it is probably the first dramatic work in theatrical history to have a pair of attendant lords as leading players! Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, friends of Prince Hamlet appear fleetingly in Shakespeare's tragedy. Stoppard takes the two friends and explores their bewilderment and confusion as huge events, beyond their comprehension, sweep around and over them.
In the moments of high comedy and heart-wrenching pathos that characterise the play an audience can see in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's plight, shades of their own vulnerability. The play makes us think about life, human needs and purpose, but we never lose sight of the essential warmth and inter-dependent friendship of the two main characters.
With award-winning actors, an intriguing set, colourful court scenes, tumblers and jugglers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is another unmissable production from Next Stage.
