Dogg's Hamlet

Dogg's Hamlet begins on an empty stage when Baker, a schoolboy, says, "Here," asking another boy to throw him a football. However, since he says it in "Dogg," a language that uses English words with unconventional meanings, what he really says is "Brick." From this point on, most of the characters in Dogg's Hamlet speak Dogg, which, to anybody who does not know it, sounds like gibberish. For the reader, Stoppard initially provides translations from Dogg to English in brackets, but audience members have no such aid and must learn Dogg as the play goes on. Baker joins Abel on the stage, and together they test the microphone, which is dead. Charlie and Abel fight over the football, and Dogg, the headmaster, arrives and takes it from them, hitting Abel in the process.

They make idle conversation with Dogg, who tells them that a lorry, or...