Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is an absurdist, existential tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard, first staged at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966. The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare's Hamlet, the courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and the main setting is Denmark. The action of Stoppard's play takes place mainly "in the wings" of Shakespeare's Hamlet, with brief appearances of major characters from Hamlet who enact fragments of the original's scenes. Between these episodes, the two protagonists voice their confusion at the progress of events occurring onstage without them in Hamlet, of which they have no direct knowledge.

Comparisons have been drawn with Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, for the presence of two central characters who almost appear to be two halves of a single character. Many plot features are similar as well: the characters pass time by playing Questions, impersonating other characters, and interrupting each other or remaining silent for long periods of time.

Recorded at The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood in June 2022.

Producing Director: Susan Albert Loewenberg Directed by Rosalind Ayres An L.A. Theatre Works Full-Cast Performance Featuring: JD Cullum as Claudius and Soldier Seamus Dever as Hamlet Anna Lyse Erikson as Opehlia and Alfred Martin Jarvis as The Player Adhir Kalyan as Rosencrantz André Sogliuzzo as Polonius, Player-King, Ambassador, and Horatio Susan Sullivan as Gertrude Matthew Wolf as Guildenstern Senior Producer: Anna Lyse Erikson Prepared for Audio by Mark Holden for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood Sound Design: David Wilson, Neil Wogensen and Charles Carroll Recording Engineer, Editor and Mixer: Charles Carroll Senior Radio Producer: Ronn Lipkin Foley Artist: Jeff Gardner