What happens when two minor characters in one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies suddenly become stars of their own story? Confusion, comedy, and some surprisingly profound questions about life itself, that’s what. That is the premise behind Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Tom Stoppard’s celebrated absurdist comedy, which comes to the stage at the nearby The Ohio State University at Mansfield this weekend for four performances, October 23 through 26.
The work is presented by Ohio State Mansfield Theatre, in partnership with the Mansfield Shakespeare Company, the production arrives during the 60th anniversary year of a play that turned two easily overlooked figures from Hamlet into some of modern theatre’s most memorable characters.
Hamlet From the Other Side of the Curtain
In Shakespeare’s original tragedy, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are childhood acquaintances of Prince Hamlet who are summoned to the Danish court to discover what is troubling him. Their roles are relatively small, and their eventual fate is revealed almost in passing. Stoppard imagined what might happen if the audience followed those two characters instead.
The result is a world in which the central events of Hamlet unfold largely beyond their understanding. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find themselves caught in conversations they cannot explain, confronted by people who seem to know more than they do, and carried toward an ending over which they have little control. Along the way, they argue about probability, question the nature of existence, and attempt to make sense of a world that stubbornly refuses to behave logically.
The humor is often ridiculous, the dialogue playful, and underlying questions remarkably serious. How much control do people have over their lives? What happens when everyone else seems to know the script? And can anyone escape a fate that has already been written?
Sixty Years of Theatrical Mischief
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead made its debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on August 24, 1966, performed by the Oxford Theatre Group. Less than a year later, the production reached London’s Old Vic, where Britain’s National Theatre presented it beginning April 11, 1967. Its Broadway premiere followed that October, establishing Stoppard as a major theatrical voice. The original Broadway production ran for 420 performances, and the play went on to become one of the defining works of twentieth-century English-language theatre.
Six decades later, its mixture of verbal comedy, philosophical puzzles, and theatrical invention continues to attract audiences and performers.
A Mansfield Cast Takes on the Absurd
At Ohio State Mansfield, the cast has spent weeks preparing a production intended to embrace both the comedy and the deeper questions behind Stoppard’s writing. In an October 7 rehearsal report published by the university, cast members described the show as an exploration of identity and purpose, with plenty of humor along the way. The production also features creative staging and costume design intended to bring the unusual world of the play to life.
The collaboration with the Mansfield Shakespeare Company brings another dimension to the campus production, connecting Shakespeare’s theatrical legacy with a modern work that playfully turns his storytelling inside out. For audiences familiar with Hamlet, the experience offers a chance to revisit a classic from an unexpected perspective. For those who have never encountered Shakespeare’s Danish prince, Stoppard’s comedy offers an entertaining introduction to a theatrical world in which very little goes according to plan.
Four Chances to Join the Confusion
Performances are scheduled in Founders Auditorium in Ovalwood Hall on the Ohio State Mansfield campus, 1760 University Drive, on the following dates:
- Friday, October 23, at 7:30 PM
- Saturday, October 24, at 7:30 PM
- Sunday, October 25, at 2:30 PM
- Monday, October 26, at 7:30 PM
General admission tickets are $10, with a discounted $6 admission for students, seniors, and faculty.
Tickets are available through the Ohio State Mansfield ticketing website, although online reservations are limited to current students, faculty, staff, and alumni. New ticketing users may call 800-762-5646 or 614-247-4105 to establish access. Tickets can also be purchased at the auditorium box office beginning 45 minutes before each performance. Organizers advise arriving at least 15 minutes before curtain time. For additional information, contact the campus box office at 419-755-4045 or email [email protected].
The title may announce that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead, but for four performances in Mansfield, these two bewildered characters will have the stage very much to themselves.