SceneFiend library
Rosecrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
By Tom Stoppard - Stage play
Roles
- Guidenstern - Young Adult (20-35), Male
About this piece
Guildnstern ponders on the nature of probability
Summary
The play is an existentialist tragicomedy on the style of "Waiting for Godot". The title characters are the famous minor characters of Shakespeare's "Hamlet". They are Hamlet's childhood friends and are called by the king to try to find out what is the cause of Hamlet's madness. Throughout most of the play, however, we find the two characters idling time, philosophizing, playing various games and wondering on the nature of life. This monologue is in the first act. The two characters are passing time betting on coin flips. Rosecrantz wins 92 times in a row and then asks what they should do next. In this monologue Guildenstern, with a complex and very articulate speech, ponders on the nature of probability and expresses his surprise for the oddity of what just occurred.
Tone
Use cases
Library metadata only. SceneFiend never includes script text here - pick up the published version to rehearse.
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