Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is an absurdist, existential tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard. The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare's Hamlet, the courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and the main setting in Denmark. While visiting their old friend Hamlet, the pair engage in an ongoing philosophical debate about free will versus predestination, each trying to prove absurd positions through misbegotten experiments. Meanwhile, the clueless friends attempt to make sense of the peculiar goings-on in the castle.