Reviews

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard

divsies's review against another edition

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5.0

To put it simply, Stoppard is incredible.
I loved the idea of transposing the importance of Hamlet onto the background characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The fast-paced and absurdist dialogue is so charming that I found myself completely drawn into the play world by the end of page one. Not to mention the incredibly intricate metatheatricality of it all, and the constant reflection on existing solely as supporting roles. This play is magnificently hilarious, yet it manages to deliver the most crisis-inducing existential questions.
If you've read Hamlet at any point in your life, you definitely should watch this play (however, if the pandemic is sorely limiting your play-watching capabilities, you'll probably have to settle for the script and your imagination, as I did).

achillesheeled's review against another edition

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5.0

Dying is not romantic, and death is not a game which will soon be over ... Death is not anything ... death is not . . . It's the absence of presence, nothing more ... the endless time of never coming back ... a gap you can't see, and when the wind blows through it, it makes no sound...

yes i read this without having read hamlet first mind your own business

d_roseeee's review against another edition

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4.0

oh!

okay but fr this play?? is a mindfuck. it’s fun, full of confusing yet really entertaining dialogue, beautiful monologues that i adore, and overall really captures the feel of shakespeare in a more modern time. full of random stuff, comedy, and yet, such hard-hitting writing at the end that leaves you gutted. beautiful work <3 mwah one star off more or less for taste reasons (as i said, it’s a little confusing, and dull at some points, but i really do enjoy it)

zpuacz's review against another edition

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dark funny reflective fast-paced

3.75

tadpal's review against another edition

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funny reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

top ten plays to reread while trapped in a time loop of your own inaction... 

cas_sand's review against another edition

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challenging funny slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.75

megancortez's review against another edition

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3.0

Interesting interrogation of background characters and "offstage" places but there were several disturbing moments of moral depravity that I was not the greatest fan of and felt out of place. All in all, I didn't hate it and I don't regret reading it but I would not likely ever read it again.

isobel_ruine's review against another edition

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challenging funny reflective fast-paced

4.25

saturnate's review against another edition

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funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

deadnotsleeping's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75