Jumpers

Tom Stoppard’s play is an outrageous comedy, dazzling philosophic debate and crackling murder mystery, all at once. The elements include an ill-fated moon landing, a naked lady on a swing, a dead body in the closet, a pyramid of acrobats, an onstage band and a trained tortoise on the loose. Simon Russel Beale and Essie Davis head the cast of the National Theatre of Great Britain’s production of Jumpers. David Leveaux directs.

George Moore, a professor of philosophy, is struggling to write a speech about moral absolutes and the existence of God, while coping with the distraction of his mentally unbalanced wife, Dorothy, a musical comedy star, and the murder investigation being conducted in their bedroom.