Book excerpt: Margaret and Stanley Locker and their friends, Donna and Walter Pace, are at the theatre for their weekly dose of culture. This week's ordeal is Hamlet. After they seat themselves with some confusion, the play consists of their incessant and hilarious chatter about themselves, their children, a dead friend and even occasionally Shakespeare's play. Secrets emerge and friendships unravel amid the audiences's laughter. You may even recognize these rude playgoers as the obnoxious people who sometimes sit behind you. This comedy with bite can be simply staged with a single set four adjacent theatre seats, or it can be enhanced with an abbreviated, mimed version of Hamlet that provides six additional non speaking roles. In this version, the audience sees but does not hear Hamlet and hears but does not see the Lockers and the Paces. - Publisher's note.