Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is a play by Tom Stoppard that was first performed in 1966. The play reimagines the story of Shakespeare's Hamlet from the perspective of two of its minor characters, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
In the play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two childhood friends of Hamlet who are summoned by the king to spy on the prince. However, as they wander around the castle, they begin to realize that they are mere pawns in a larger game, and that they have no control over their own fate.
Throughout the play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern struggle to make sense of the events that are unfolding around them, often resorting to absurdist humor and wordplay to distract themselves from the terrifying reality of their situation.
As the play progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are doomed to play out their scripted roles, and that their fate is intertwined with that of Hamlet and the other characters in the play.
Overall, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is a witty, thought-provoking meditation on the nature of free will, fate, and identity, and a clever reimagining of one of Shakespeare's most iconic plays.