The Real Inspector Hound

A clever one-act by Tom Stoppard. A play-within-a-play with fast paced satire. Two critics arrive to the theater to review a play, which happens to involve a mystery murder in countryside house. As this whodunit unfolds on the stage, the critics provide their ongoing commentary of the play as well as interludes into this own personal dramas in the witty dialogue that Tom Stoppard is famous for. As the show progresses, the critics slowly become more involved with the action on stage and are eventually transported onto the main stage. Fact and fiction are blurred as two worlds merge into one, culminating the not-so-lucid conclusion of this detective case.

The Critics
Moon - a second-string theater critic who is sitting in for the senior reviewer, the absent Higgs; bitter, pretentious, self-involved, deeply resentful about his own junior position
Birdboot - a theater critic; loud, pompous, clownish; a womanizer who uses positive reviews to get with actresses (including the actress playing Felicity in this play)

The Characters
The play-within-the-play is meant to be taken seriously by the critics, but for the actual audience this is complete farce. Stoppard creates hilariously bad dialogue and follows a rather stereotypical “murder in the parlor” plotline. It’s filled with ridiculous plot-twists and unveilings, which become even more ludicrous with the later arrival of the critics to the country house.
Mrs. Drudge - the household maid of the Muldoon Manor
Simon Gasgoyne - a recent arrival at the secluded country manor; a young, suspicious man with romantic ties to both Miss Cunningham and Mrs. Muldoon
Felicity Cunningham - the saucy young friend of Mrs. Muldoon
Cynthia Muldoon - the widow of the late Mr. Muldoon and lady of the house
Major Magnus Muldoon - Mrs. Muldoon’s brother-in-law, recently arrived from Canada and in love with his sister-in-law; in a wheelchair
Inspector Hound - Randomly appears at the countryside in the middle of the play to investigate the murder