Stoppard at is zaniest in this delightful and delicious romp through mistaken indentity and a shredding of the fourth wall.

The play begins with two theater critics, Moon and Birdboot sitting in theater seats at the back of the set facing the rest of the stage and the audience. They are ostensiby viewing the play while conducting conversations about competitors, colleagues, lovers, theater criticism, and the action on the state.  The action itself revolves around a dead body on the floor which none of the actors appear to see until late in the play.  Before that, we witness the love encounters between Simon (Is he the escaped madman described in the police bulletins on the radio???) and first Felicity and then Cynthia, the Lady of the manor.  The fourth at cards is Major Magnus, the disabled brother-in-law of Cynthia’s husband, Alfred, who mysteriously disappeared 10 years earlier.

By the end of the play, Simon, Birdboot, and Alfred are all dead on the floor, while the real Inspector Hound’s role has been taken over by Moon.  Sound weird?  The dialogue is early Stoppard—fast paced, sarcastic, slapstick, and very funny—as he dissects identity, love, theater, criticism, and our old friend ‘free will’.    I laughed and scratched my head and now I’d love to see it in person.