Editing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

{{short description|1966 play by Tom Stoppard}}
{{about|Tom Stoppard's play|the 1990 film|Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (film)|the 1874 [[W. S. Gilbert]] play|Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (play)}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox play
| name       = Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
| image      =
| caption    = 
| writer     = [[Tom Stoppard]]
| characters = {{hlist|Rosencrantz|Guildenstern|The Player|Alfred|[[Prince Hamlet|Hamlet]]|Tragedians|King Claudius|Gertrude|Polonius|Ophelia|Horatio|Fortinbras|Soldiers, courtiers, and musicians}}
| setting    = [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Hamlet]]''
| premiere   = 24 August 1966
| place      = [[Edinburgh Fringe]]
| orig_lang  = English
| subject    = 
| genre      = [[Tragicomedy]]<br/>[[surreal humour]]<br/>[[black comedy]]
| web        =
}}

[[File:Tom Stoppard ROSENKRANTZ I GUILDENSTERN SU MRTVI (Hamlet), 2006..jpg|thumb|[[Josip Zovko]] as Hamlet, [[Croatian National Theatre in Split|HNK Split]]]]

'''''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead''''' is an [[Theatre of the Absurd|absurdist]], existential [[tragicomedy]] by [[Tom Stoppard]], first staged at the [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe]] in 1966.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/edinburgh-cradle-of-shows-that-conquered-the-world-2041216.html|title=Edinburgh: Cradle of shows that conquered the world|work=The Independent|date=2 August 2010}}</ref><ref name="Chrono">{{cite web | author= Michael H. Hutchins | title=A Tom Stoppard Bibliography: Chronology | work=The Stephen Sondheim Reference Guide | url=http://www.sondheimguide.com/Stoppard/chronology.html | date=14 August 2006 | access-date=2008-06-23}}</ref> The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from [[William Shakespeare|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 also been drawn with [[Samuel Beckett]]'s ''[[Waiting for Godot]]'',<ref>{{cite book | title=Tom Stoppard: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead, Jumpers, Travesties, Arcadia |author=Jim Hunter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ohoJihItGSoC |publisher=Macmillan |year=2000 |isbn=9780571197828}}</ref> 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 (game)|Questions]], impersonating other characters, and interrupting each other or remaining silent for long periods of time.

==Title==
The title is taken directly from the final scene of [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Hamlet]]''. In an earlier scene, [[Prince Hamlet]] has been exiled to England by the treacherous King of Denmark (his uncle Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father to obtain the throne). En route to England, Hamlet discovers a letter from King Claudius which is being carried to England by Hamlet's old but now untrusted friends [[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern]]. The letter commands that Hamlet be put to death upon his arrival in England. Hamlet rewrites the letter to command that instead, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern be put to death.  He then escapes back to Denmark. 
 
By the end of Shakespeare's play, Prince Hamlet, [[Laertes (Hamlet)|Laertes]], [[Ophelia]], [[Polonius]], [[King Claudius]], and [[Gertrude (Hamlet)|Queen Gertrude]] all lie dead.

An ambassador from England arrives on the scene to bluntly report "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead" (''Hamlet''. Act V, Scene II, line 411); they join the stabbed, poisoned and drowned key characters. By the end of ''Hamlet'', [[Horatio (Hamlet)|Horatio]] is the only main figure left alive.

==Characters==
* [[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern]]: childhood friends of Hamlet.
* The Player: a travelling actor.
* [[Prince Hamlet|Hamlet]]: the Prince of Denmark, nephew to Claudius.
* Tragedians: travelling with the Player, including Alfred. 
* [[King Claudius]]: the King of Denmark, Hamlet's uncle and stepfather.
* [[Gertrude (Hamlet)|Gertrude]]: the Queen of Denmark, and Hamlet's mother. 
* [[Polonius]]: Claudius's chief adviser.
* [[Laertes (Hamlet)|Laertes]]: Polonius's son
* [[Ophelia (character)|Ophelia]]: Polonius's daughter.
* [[Horatio (character)|Horatio]]: friend of Hamlet.
* [[Fortinbras]]: nephew of the King of Norway.

==Synopsis==
With William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'' as the backdrop'','' ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'' concerns the musings and mishaps of the titular characters. The play is structured as the inverse of ''Hamlet'', in which Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two minor characters who were childhood friends of the Prince; instead, the duo remains the focus and Hamlet himself is a minor role whose actions occur largely offstage, with the exception of a few short scenes in which the dramatic plays converge.

In ''Hamlet'', Rosencrantz and Guildenstern operate under the King's command in an attempt to discover Hamlet's motives and plot against him. Hamlet, however, derisively mocks and outwits them, so that they, rather than he, are sentenced to death in the end. ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'' explores these events from the perspective of the duo; their actions seem largely nonsensical because they are superseded and, therefore, determined by Hamlet's plot.

After witnessing a performance of ''The Murder of Gonzago'' – [[story within a story|the play within the play]] in ''Hamlet'' – they find themselves on a ship, transporting Prince Hamlet to the King in England, with the troupe that staged the performance also on board as stowaways. They are supposed to give the King a letter with an instruction to execute Hamlet, who discovers this and replaces the letter with another one. During the voyage, the ship is hijacked by pirates, after which it is discovered that Hamlet has disappeared and the letter now instructs the English monarch to execute {{em|them}} instead.

The troupe recreates the duel scene from ''Hamlet'' with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, at the end, accepting ''quo fata ferunt'' ("whither the fates carry [us]"). The play concludes with the final scene from ''Hamlet'' in which the English Ambassador arrives and announces that "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead".

==Summary==

===Act One===
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are betting on coin flips. Rosencrantz, who bets heads each time, wins 92 flips in a row. The extreme unlikeliness of this event according to the [[Probability theory|laws of probability]] leads Guildenstern to suggest that they may be "within un-, sub- or supernatural forces". It is revealed that the duo are journeying to court on the orders of the King. Guildenstern theorizes on the nature of reality, focusing on how an event becomes increasingly real as more people witness it.

A troupe of Tragedians arrives and offers the two men a show. They seem capable only of performances involving [[wikt:bloodbath|bloodbath]]s. The next two scenes at court are from the plot of ''Hamlet''. The first, involving Hamlet and Ophelia, takes place offstage in ''Hamlet''—the stage directions repeat exactly the words with which Ophelia describes the event to Polonius in ''Hamlet''. The second is taken directly from ''Hamlet'': Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's first appearance in that play. The Danish king and queen, Claudius and Gertrude, ask the two to discover the nature of Hamlet's recent madness. The royal couple demonstrate an inability to distinguish the two courtiers from one another, as do the characters themselves (to their irritation).

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern attempt to practise for their meeting with the Prince by one pretending to be Hamlet and the other asking him questions, but they glean no new information from it. The act closes with another scene from ''Hamlet'' in which they finally meet the Prince face to face.

===Act Two===
The conversation ends between Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Hamlet. Guildenstern tries to be optimistic, while Rosencrantz admits that the pair made no progress and Hamlet entirely outwitted them.

The Player returns to the stage. He is angry that the pair did not stay to watch their play earlier because, without an audience, his Tragedians are nothing. He tells them to stop questioning their existence because life appears too chaotic to comprehend upon examination. The Player, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern lose themselves in another illogical conversation that demonstrates the limits of language. The Player leaves to prepare for his production of ''The Murder of Gonzago'', set to be put on in front of Hamlet and the King and Queen.

Claudius and Gertrude enter and begin another short scene taken directly from ''Hamlet'': they ask about the duo's encounter with the Prince, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern inform them about his interest in the Tragedians' production. After Claudius and Gertrude leave, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern contemplate their job. They see Hamlet walk by but fail to seize the opportunity to interrogate him.

The Tragedians return and perform their dress rehearsal of ''The Murder of Gonzago''. Their play moves beyond the scope of what the reader sees in ''Hamlet''; characters resembling Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are seen taking a sea voyage and meeting their deaths at the hands of English courtiers, foreshadowing the duo's true fate. Rosencrantz does not quite make the connection, but Guildenstern is frightened into a verbal attack on the Tragedians' inability to capture the real essence of death. The stage becomes dark.

When the stage is once again visible, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern lie in the same position as had the actors portraying their deaths. The duo are upset that they have become the pawns of the royal couple. Claudius enters again and tells them to find where Hamlet has hidden Polonius's corpse. After many false starts, they eventually find Hamlet, who leaves with Claudius.

Rosencrantz is delighted to find that his mission is complete, but Guildenstern knows it has not ended. Hamlet enters, speaking with a Norwegian soldier. Rosencrantz decides that he is happy to accompany Hamlet to England because it means freedom from the orders of the Danish court. Guildenstern understands that wherever they go, they are still trapped in this world.

===Act Three===
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find themselves on a ship that has already set sail. The pair seem to have no knowledge of how they got there. At first, they try to determine whether they are still alive, before they recognize that they are not dead and are on board a boat. They remember that Claudius has given them a letter to deliver to England. After some brief confusion over who actually has the letter, they find it and eventually open it. They realize that Claudius has asked for Hamlet to be killed. While Rosencrantz seems hesitant to follow their orders now, Guildenstern convinces him that they are not worthy of interfering with fate and the plans of kings. The stage darkens and, presumably, the characters go to sleep. Hamlet switches the letter with one he has written himself, an act which takes place offstage in ''Hamlet''.

The pair discovers that the Tragedians are hidden ("impossibly", according to the stage directions) in several barrels on deck. They are fleeing Denmark because their play offended Claudius. When Rosencrantz complains that there is not enough action, pirates attack. Hamlet, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and the Player all hide in separate barrels. The lights dim.

When the lights come on again, Hamlet has vanished (in ''Hamlet'' it is reported that he was kidnapped by pirates from the ship). Rosencrantz and Guildenstern panic, then re-read the letter to find that it now calls for them to be put to death instead of the prince. Guildenstern cannot understand why he and Rosencrantz are so important as to necessitate their executions.

The Player tells Guildenstern that all paths end in death. Guildenstern snaps and draws the Player's dagger from his belt, shouting that his portrayals of death do not do justice to the real thing. He stabs the Player and the Player appears to die. Guildenstern fully believes that he has killed the Player. Seconds later, the Tragedians begin to clap and the Player stands up and bows, revealing the knife to be a theatrical one with a retractable blade. The Tragedians then act out the deaths from the final scene of ''Hamlet''.

The lighting shifts so that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern appear alone. Rosencrantz still does not understand why they must die, yet he resigns himself to his fate and he disappears. Guildenstern wonders when he passed the point where he could have stopped the series of events that has brought him to this point. He disappears as well. The final scene features the last few lines from Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', as the Ambassador from England announces that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead.

==Motifs and ideas==

===Absurdity===
Stoppard emphasizes the randomness of the world. In the beginning of Act One, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern bet on coin flips and Rosencrantz wins with heads ninety-two times in a row. Guildenstern creates a series of [[syllogism]]s in order to interpret this phenomenon, but nothing truly coincides with [[probability theory]].<ref name=sparkthemes>{{cite web | author=Garrett Ziegler | title=Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: Themes, Motifs & Symbols | url=http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/rosencrantz/themes.html | work=SparkNotes |year=2008 | access-date=2008-06-23}}</ref>

===Art vs. reality===
The players help demonstrate the conflict between art and reality. The world in which Rosencrantz and Guildenstern live lacks order, but art allows people to create artificial order. As the Player says, "There's a design at work in all art." Art and the real world are in conflict. In order to reach out to the only reality he can be sure of, Guildenstern exclaims, "No one gets up after death—there is no applause—there is only silence and some second-hand clothes, and that's death."<ref>{{cite web | first=Ian |last=Johnston |title=Lecture on Stoppard, ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'' |url=http://johnstoniatexts.x10host.com/lectures/stoppardlecture.html |date=10 April 1997 |access-date=2019-06-21}}</ref> Stoppard also uses his characters to comment on the believability of theatre. While Guildenstern criticises the Player for his portrayal of death, he believes the Player's performance when Guildenstern thinks he has stabbed him with a knife. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern believe exactly what the actors want them to believe.

===Metatheatre===
[[Metatheatre]] is a central structural element of ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead''. Scenes that are staged as plays, dumb shows, or commentaries on dramatic theory and practice are prominent in both Stoppard's play and Shakespeare's original tragedy ''[[Hamlet]]''.<ref>See John Fleming's analysis in [http://pum.univ-tlse2.fr/~Rosencrantz-and-Guildenstern-are~.html "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead"] (2017)</ref> In ''Hamlet'', metatheatrical elements include the Player's speech (2.2), Hamlet's advice to the Players (3.2), and the meta-play "The Mousetrap" (3.3). Since Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are characters from ''Hamlet'' itself, Stoppard's entire play can be considered a piece of metatheatre. Bernardina da Silveira Pinheiro observes that Stoppard uses metatheatrical devices to produce a "[[parody]]" of the key elements of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'' that includes foregrounding two minor characters considered "nonentities" in the original tragedy.<ref name=pinheiro>{{cite book | first= Bernardina da Silveira | last=Pinheiro | editor1-last=Resende |editor1-first=Aimara da Cunha |editor2-first=Thomas LaBorie |editor2-last=Burns |chapter=Stoppard's and Shakespeare's Views on Metatheater | title=Foreign Accents: Brazilian Readings of Shakespeare | location=Newark, Delaware | publisher=University of Delaware Press | pages=185, 194 | year=2002 | isbn=978-0-87413-753-8 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P7yxUiVthVkC&pg=PA185}}</ref>

==Notable productions==

===United Kingdom and Ireland===
The play had its first incarnation as a 1964 one-act titled ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Meet King Lear''. The expanded version under the current title was first staged at the [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe]] on 24 August 1966, by the [[Oxford Theatre Group]]. The play debuted in London with a production at the [[Old Vic]] directed by [[Derek Goldby]], designed by [[Desmond Heeley]], and scored by [[Marc Wilkinson]].<ref name="Alberge">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/nov/03/national-theatre-50th-anniversary-celebration|title=National Theatre: Night of the stars celebrates 50 years|last=Alberge|first=Dalya|date=2 November 2013|work=The Guardian}}</ref> It premiered on 11 April 1967, with [[John Stride]] as Rosencrantz, [[Edward Petherbridge]] as Guildenstern, [[Graham Crowden]] as the Player, and [[John McEnery]] as Hamlet.<ref name="mberry">{{cite web | author=Michael Berry | title=Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead | url=http://www.sff.net/people/mberry/rosen.htp | publisher=Michael Berry's Web Pages | date=24 May 2004 | access-date=23 June 2008 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516000532/http://www.sff.net/people/mberry/rosen.htp | archive-date=16 May 2008}}</ref> The play returned to the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] on 14 December 1995 and this production with [[Adrian Scarborough]] as Rosencrantz and [[Simon Russell Beale]] as Guildenstern subsequently toured to [[Belfast]], [[Cork (city)|Cork]], [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]], [[Newcastle upon Tyne|Newcastle]], [[Sheffield]] and [[Bradford]].<ref>[[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] programme for this production printed by Batley Brothers Printers, Clapham, London SW4 0JN, 1995</ref>

In 2011 the play was revived in a production directed by [[Sir Trevor Nunn]], opening at [[Chichester Festival Theatre]] before transferring to the [[Theatre Royal Haymarket]] in London's [[West End theatre|West End]] (June–August 2011). It starred [[Samuel Barnett (actor)|Samuel Barnett]] and [[Jamie Parker]]. [[Tim Curry]] was originally scheduled to appear as The Player, but dropped out during preview performances at Chichester Festival Theatre due to ill health and was replaced by [[Chris Andrew Mellon]]. In 2013, an excerpt of the play was performed by [[Benedict Cumberbatch]] (Rosencrantz) and [[Kobna Holdbrook-Smith]] (Guildenstern) on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the National Theatre.<ref name="Alberge"/><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://pum.univ-tlse2.fr/spip.php?page=popup_image&id_article=1989 | title=Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead / Rosencrantz et Guildenstern sont morts – PUM Presses Universitaires du Midi}}</ref>

From 25 February to 6 May 2017 the play returned to The Old Vic in a production celebrating its 50th anniversary, directed by [[David Leveaux]] and starring [[Daniel Radcliffe]] as Rosencrantz, [[Joshua McGuire]] as Guildenstern and [[David Haig]] as The Player.<ref>See Marianne Drugeon's analysis of Leveaux' production in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Toulouse, 2017) http://pum.univ-tlse2.fr/~Rosencrantz-and-Guildenstern-are~.html#</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/news/latest-news/article/item362847/glenda-jackson-leads-old-vic-season/|title=Glenda Jackson leads Old Vic season|website=www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk|access-date=2016-09-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37572546|title=Daniel Radcliffe to play Rosencrantz in Sir Tom Stoppard play at Old Vic|date=2016-10-06|newspaper=BBC News|language=en-GB|access-date=2016-10-06}}</ref><ref name="Grdn">{{cite web
  |title = Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead review—Daniel Radcliffe shines in Stoppard's sprightly comedy
  |last = Billington
  |first = Michael
  |website = [[The Guardian]]
  |date = 8 March 2017
  |access-date = 10 April 2017
  |url = https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/mar/08/rosencrantz-and-guildenstern-are-dead-review-daniel-radcliffe-stoppard-old-vic-london
  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170408144449/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/mar/08/rosencrantz-and-guildenstern-are-dead-review-daniel-radcliffe-stoppard-old-vic-london
  |archive-date = 8 April 2017
  |url-status=live
  }}</ref>

===Broadway and Off-Broadway===
The Royal National Theatre production of ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern'' had a year-long [[Broadway theater|Broadway]] run from 9 October 1967, through 19 October 1968, initially at the [[Alvin Theatre]], then transferring to the [[Eugene O'Neill Theatre]] on 8 January 1968.

The production, which was Stoppard's first on Broadway, totalled eight previews and 420 performances.<ref name=Chrono/> It was directed by [[Derek Goldby]] and designed by [[Desmond Heeley]] and starred [[Paul Hecht]] as the Player, [[Brian Murray (actor)|Brian Murray]] as Rosencrantz and [[John Wood (English actor)|John Wood]] as Guildenstern. The play was nominated for eight [[Tony Award]]s, and won four: Best Play, Scenic Design, Costume Design and Producer; the director and the three leading actors, all nominated for Tonys, did not win.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Tony Award Info|url=http://www.broadwayworld.com/tonyawardsshowinfo.cfm?showname=Rosencrantz%20and%20Guildenstern%20Are%20Dead|work=BroadwayWorld|year=2008|access-date=2008-06-23}}</ref>

The play also won Best Play from the [[New York Drama Critics Circle]] in 1968, and Outstanding Production from the [[Outer Critics Circle Award|Outer Critics Circle]] in 1969. Clive Barnes of ''[[The New York Times]]'' described the play as "very funny, very brilliant, very chilling."<ref>{{cite book|last=Kabatchnik|first=Amnon|title=Blood on the Stage, 1975–2000: Milestone Plays of Crime, Mystery, and Detection|page=344}}</ref>

The play was profiled in the [[William Goldman]] book ''[[The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway|last=Goldman|first=William|publisher=Limelight Editions|year=1984|isbn=9780879100230|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/seasoncandidloo00gold/page/114 114]|author-link=William Goldman|orig-year=first published 1969|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/seasoncandidloo00gold/page/114}}</ref>

The play had a 1987 New York revival by [[Roundabout Theatre Company|Roundabout Theatre]] at the [[Union Square Theatre]],<ref name=Chrono/> directed by [[Robert Carsen]] and featuring [[John Wood (English actor)|John Wood]] as the Player, [[Stephen Lang (actor)|Stephen Lang]] as Rosencrantz and [[John Rubinstein]] as Guildenstern. It ran for 40 performances from 29 April to 28 June 1987.

Several times since 1995, the [[American Shakespeare Center]] has mounted repertories that included both ''Hamlet'' and ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern'', with the same actors performing the same roles in each; in their 2001 and 2009 seasons the two plays were "directed, designed, and rehearsed together to make the most out of the shared scenes and situations".<ref>
{{cite web
 |last        = Warren
 |first       = Jim
 |title       = Director's Notes
 |publisher   = American Shakespeare Center
 |url         = http://www.americanshakespearecenter.com/v.php?pg=153
 |access-date  = 20 June 2009
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20151222152045/http://www.americanshakespearecenter.com/v.php?pg=153
 |archive-date = 22 December 2015}}</ref>

Halifax's [[Neptune Theatre (Halifax, Nova Scotia)|Neptune Theatre]] company began a production of the play in January 2024 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and collaborated with [[Mirvish Productions]] for a Toronto, Ontario run beginning in March 2024—the latter of which was extended twice before the first production due to high sales. Both runs featured [[Billy Boyd (actor)|Billy Boyd]] as Guildenstern, [[Dominic Monaghan]] as Rosencrantz, and Michael Blake as the Player, with the Toronto Star describing them as "a trio of brilliant performances" and awarding the production 3.5/4 stars.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chong |first=Joshua |date=March 12, 2024 |title=Former hobbits Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd are stupendous in 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead' |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/former-hobbits-dominic-monaghan-and-billy-boyd-are-stupendous-in-rosencrantz-and-guildenstern-are-dead/article_b5b04504-dfc1-11ee-98cb-3bd86da7d615.amp.html |access-date=March 14, 2024 |work=The Toronto Star}}</ref>

=== Other worldwide productions ===
In 2013, [[Sydney Theatre Company]] presented a production directed by [[Simon Phillips (director)|Simon Phillips]] with a cast featuring [[Tim Minchin]] as Rosencrantz and [[Toby Schmitz]] as Guildenstern from 6 August to 7 September 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead starring Tim Minchin and Toby Schmitz {{!}} Stage Whispers |url=https://www.stagewhispers.com.au/galleries/345 |access-date=2024-04-07 |website=www.stagewhispers.com.au}}</ref>

===Radio adaptations===
The play has been adapted three times for [[BBC Radio]]:
* 24 December 1978, an adaptation by Stoppard himself, directed by [[John Tydeman]];<ref>{{Cite journal | url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/b90282445b2d4d0ca3ee441a954c0850 | title=Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead| journal=The Radio Times| issue=2876| pages=31| date=1978-12-21}}</ref> the cast included [[Edward Petherbridge]] as Guildenstern, [[Edward Hardwicke]] as Rosencrantz, [[Freddie Jones]] as The Player, [[Robert Lang (actor)|Robert Lang]] as Claudius, [[Maxine Audley]] as Gertrude, [[Angela Pleasence]] as Ophelia, and [[Martin Jarvis (actor)|Martin Jarvis]] as Hamlet.
* 15 July 2007 as part of a celebration of Stoppard's 70th birthday, another version of Stoppard's adaptation, this time directed by [[Peter Kavanagh (director)|Peter Kavanagh]];<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/dramaon3/pip/d2csr | title=BBC – (none) – Drama on 3 – Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead}}</ref> the cast included [[Danny Webb (actor)|Danny Webb]] as Rosencrantz, [[Andrew Lincoln]] as Guildenstern, [[Desmond Barrit]] as The Player, [[John Rowe (actor)|John Rowe]] as Polonius, [[Abigail Hollick]] as Ophelia, [[Liza Sadovy]] as Gertrude, [[Simon Treves]] as Claudius and [[John Dougall (actor)|John Dougall]] as Hamlet.
* A two-part adaptation broadcast 30 and 31 March 2019 on [[BBC Radio 4]], directed by [[Emma Harding]];<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0003smv|title=BBC Radio 4 – Drama, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Part 1)|website=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0003sz6|title=BBC Radio 4 – Drama, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Part 2)|website=BBC}}</ref> the cast included [[Mathew Baynton]] as Rosencrantz, [[Andrew Buchan]] as Guildenstern, [[Toby Jones]] as The Player, [[Sam Dale]] as Tragedian, [[Ronny Jhutti]] as Alfred, [[Sarah Ovens]] as Ophelia, [[Michael Bertenshaw]] as Polonius, [[Parth Thakerar]] as Hamlet, [[Don Gilet]] as Claudius and [[Clare Corbett]] as Gertrude.

A 1983 radio adaptation was broadcast on the [[BBC World Service]] on 17 October directed by Gordon House, with [[Nigel Anthony]] as Rosencrantz, [[Nicky Henson]] as Guildenstern, [[Jack May]] as The Player, [[John Duttine]] as Hamlet, [[Peter Vaughan]] as Claudius, [[Marcia Warren]] as Gertrude, Eileen Tully as Ophelia, [[Cyril Shaps]] as Polonius and [[Alex Jennings]] as a Tragedian.

In June 2022, a production directed by [[Rosalind Ayres]] for the [[L.A. Theatre Works]] was broadcast from and recorded at the Invisible Studios, West Hollywood. The cast included [[Adhir Kalyan]] as Rosencrantz, Matthew Wolf as Guildenstern, [[Martin Jarvis (actor)|Martin Jarvis]] as The Player, Anna Lyse Erikson as Alfred/Ophelia, [[Seamus Dever]] as Hamlet, [[JD Cullum]] as Claudius/Soldier, [[André Sogliuzzo]] as Polonius/Player-King/Horatio/Ambassador and [[Susan Sullivan]] as Gertrude.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://latw.org/title/rosencrantz-and-guildenstern-are-dead | title=Catalog &#124; LATW}}</ref>

===Film adaptation===
{{main|Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (film)}}
Film rights to the play were originally bought by MGM in 1968 for a reported $350,000 plus 10% of the profits. [[John Boorman]] was announced as director with Bob Chartoff and [[Irwin Winkler]] to produce. The film was not made, however.<ref>{{cite news|title=Only Die Twice|author=A. H. WEILER|date=25 February 1968|work=The New York Times|page=D17}}</ref>

The play was eventually adapted for a film released in February 1990, with screenplay and direction by Stoppard.  The motion picture is Stoppard's only film directing credit: "[I]t began to become clear that it might be a good idea if I did it myself—at least the director wouldn't have to keep wondering what the author meant. It just seemed that I'd be the only person who could treat the play with the necessary disrespect."<ref name="test">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-02-20-ca-1550-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times|title=Stoppard Finds the Right Man to Direct His Film |date=20 February 1991 |first=Peter |last=Brunette |author-link=Peter Brunette}}</ref> The cast included [[Gary Oldman]] as Rosencrantz, [[Tim Roth]] as Guildenstern, [[Richard Dreyfuss]] as the Player, [[Joanna Roth]] as [[Ophelia (character)|Ophelia]], [[Ian Richardson]] as Polonius, [[Joanna Miles]] as Gertrude, [[Donald Sumpter]] as Claudius, and [[Iain Glen]] as [[Prince Hamlet|Hamlet]].

==Works inspired by ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead''==
* A 2022 play ''Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are (Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead)'' is an irreverent and absurd one-act in which Rosencrantz and Guildenstern realize they are characters in a meta-play written by Tom Stoppard. Subsequently he realizes that he is a character in a meta-meta-play written by Etai Shuchatowitz.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.brooklyncc.com/show-schedule/woof-7-31 |publisher=Brooklyn Comedy Collective |access-date=25 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725142814/https://www.brooklyncc.com/show-schedule/woof-7-31 |archive-date=25 July 2022 |url-status=dead |title=WOOF: Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are // Superlike: The Musical}}</ref>
* The 2004 [[Disney]] direct-to-video film ''[[The Lion King 1½]]'' shares many features of ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'', being a re-telling of the original 1994 film ''[[The Lion King]]'' (itself based largely on the plot of ''Hamlet'') from the perspective of the characters Timon and Pumbaa and occasionally featuring major characters and plot points from the original film.
* The 1999 video game ''[[Half-Life: Opposing Force]]'' was inspired by the play, as stated by one of the lead developers. It is an expansion pack to the original ''[[Half-Life (video game)|Half-Life]]'' that retells the events from the perspective of a different character, Adrian Shepherd, that features events and plot points from the original game.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pitts |first=Russ |date=28 March 2012 |title=From 'Half-Life' to 'Borderlands': Gearbox rides the rocket |url=http://theverge.com/gaming/2012/3/28/2903588/half-life-borderlands-gearbox-software-aliens-brothers-in-arms |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120330050654/http://theverge.com/gaming/2012/3/28/2903588/half-life-borderlands-gearbox-software-aliens-brothers-in-arms |archive-date=30 March 2012 |access-date=21 December 2023 |website=The Verge}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book | last=Stoppard | first=Tom | title=Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead | year=1967 | location=London | publisher=Faber and Faber | oclc=228670971}}
* {{cite book | last=Stoppard | first=Tom | title=Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead | year=2017 |editor1=John Fleming |editor2=Nathalie Rivere de Carles | location=Toulouse | publisher=Presses Universitaires du Midi}} [http://pum.univ-tlse2.fr/~Rosencrantz-and-Guildenstern-are~.html Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead / Rosencrantz et Guildenstern sont morts]

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{IBDB show|7644}}
* {{IOBDB show}}
* {{IMDb title|qid=Q1579166|id=tt0100519|title=(film)}}
* {{Playbill production|rosencrantz-and-guildenstern-are-dead-alvin-theatre-vault-0000000888}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20120605053112/http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/888/Rosencrantz-and-Guildenstern-Are-Dead archive])
* [http://www.sondheimguide.com/Stoppard/chronology.html A Tom Stoppard Bibliography: Chronology] at sondheimguide.com.

{{Hamlet}}
{{Tom Stoppard}}
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{{John Whiting Award}}
{{TonyAwardBestPlay 1947–1975}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead}}
[[Category:1966 books]]
[[Category:1966 plays]]
[[Category:1960s debut plays]]
[[Category:Existentialist plays]]
[[Category:Metafictional plays]]
[[Category:Tragicomedy plays]]
[[Category:New York Drama Critics' Circle Award winners]]
[[Category:Parallel literature]]
[[Category:British plays adapted into films]]
[[Category:Plays and musicals based on Hamlet]]
[[Category:Plays by Tom Stoppard]]
[[Category:Plays about actors]]
[[Category:Plays about gambling]]
[[Category:Plays set in Denmark]]
[[Category:Tony Award–winning plays]]
[[Category:Surreal comedy]]
[[Category:Works set at sea]]