Sleuth

No one does “whodunits” better than the Brits! Mystery novelist and games-player Andrew Wyke, wanting to make sure that his estranged wife remains estranged, has invited her lover over for a friendly spot of gin. Or perhaps he merely wants to humiliate him for stealing his wife. What starts out as an innocuous round of cocktails develops into an intriguing multilayered contest that involves complicated and dark motives on each side. Winner of the 1971 Tony Award for Best Play, Sleuth is essentially a series of games being played between two complicated and intelligent adversaries, each trying to defeat and humiliate the other. Shaffer said the play was partially inspired by one of his friends, composer Stephen Sondheim, whose intense interest in games-playing is mirrored by the character of Wyke.