A Stoppard Duo

 After Magritte, the first half of Stone Soup’s Tom Stoppard double feature, is one of the most quintessentially British things I’ve ever seen—a perfect example, it seems, of how the Brits pull off absurdist humor better than we Americans. The actors’ British accents were mostly spot-on, and the dry wit and clever wordplay a delight. A couple is dolled up for a night on the town when a suspicious police inspector drops in and begins a baseless investigation; then Stoppard throws in a silly tuba-playing mother, a bowl of hanging fruit, a pair of waders, and a couple of wonky lightbulbs. It’s followed by The 15 Minute Hamlet, a fast-paced, gender-bending, cabaret/burlesque take on Shakespeare with a cast that throws themselves into a multitude of scene and character changes with enthusiasm and passion. Props to the costumer who put Hamlet in a pair of lacy red panties and Polonius in a pair of neon-green striped tights. NANCY SMITH 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 3:30 Sun. Ends Nov. 23.
Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3:30 p.m. Starts: Oct. 30. Continues through Nov. 23, 2008