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Rope (Hatcher)

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  1w, 5m

Adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher
From The Play “Rope’s End” by Patrick Hamilton

A murder has been committed, and the two amoral killers host a dinner party in the room where the victim’s body is hidden.

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Rope (Hatcher)

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1w, 5m
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Mystery/Thriller
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

A murder has been committed, and the two killers host a dinner party in the very room where the victim’s body is hidden. Drunk on arrogance, they claim it is the “perfect murder” and believe getting caught is impossible. But tension builds as cracks begin to appear and audiences are whisked from one moment of suspense to the next. Are the murderers’ slips unconscious or something more sinister? This thrilling show will captivate anyone who has ever been tempted to get away with something.

History

Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation of Rope first premiered at Hartford Stage in Hartford, CT, on 10 October 2025. 

Keywords
Performing Groups

BRANDON – 20s, 30s. Fine featured, smart, cultured, expensively dressed. Cool, self-satisfied, amused, confident. 
LEWIS – 20s, 30s. His junior partner. Also expensively dressed. Good looking, polite. He is the less confident specimen. 
KENNETH – 20s, 30s. A handsome young man of bracing normalcy. 
MR. KENTLEY – 60s. Rich, conservative, cultured, kind. 
MERIEL – 20s, 30s. One of the Bright Young Things, pretending to be more shallow than she is. 
RUPERT CADELL – 40s, 50s. A Byronic ruin. Brilliant, dry, wry, caustic and very entertaining. He lost most of one leg in The Great War. Now he walks with a limp. He uses a cane.

  • Time Period 1920s
  • Setting

    A luxurious Mayfair flat. 1920s. 

  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes, Period Costumes
  • Additional Features No Intermission
  • Duration 90 minutes
  • Cautions
    • Alcohol
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

“People sitting near me gasped at each new revelation.” – The Berkshire Edge

“The deftness of giving us just enough entertaining repartee while also making us watch out for any slip-ups by the killers or any stumbles-upon-something by the guests is what makes the wheels of this conniving contraption spin.” – New Haven Review

Videos

  • Rope – A Conversation with Jeffrey Hatcher youtube thumbnail

    Rope – A Conversation with Jeffrey Hatcher

  • Rope – Hartford Stage Trailer youtube thumbnail

    Rope – Hartford Stage Trailer

Authors

Patrick Hamilton

Patrick Hamilton

Patrick Hamilton (1904-1962) was born in Hassocks, Sussex in 1904. He and his parents moved a short while later to Hove, where he spent his early years. He published his first novel, Craven House, in 1926 and within a few years had established a wide readership for himself.

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Jeffrey Hatcher

Jeffrey Hatcher

Jeffrey Hatcher. Broadway: Never Gonna Dance (Book). Off-Broadway: Three Viewings and A Picasso at Manhattan Theatre Club; Scotland Road and The Turn of the Screw at Primary Stages; Tuesdays with Morrie (with Mitch Albom) at The Minetta Lane; Murder By Poe, The Turn of the Sc ...

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