Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd make their Neptune Theatre debut

Actors Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd are rehearsed and ready to make their debut at Neptune Theatre in Halifax.

“Looking forward to it. The play is changing every day. I think we’re getting it tighter and better,” says Boyd.

"Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" was written in the 1960s by playwright and screenwriter Tom Stoppard -- also known for "Shakespeare in Love."

“It’s about two minor characters from the play ‘Hamlet’ who suddenly get pushed into the foreground and they don’t know what’s going on and we see all the bits from the play ‘Hamlet’ that we don’t normally see,” says director Jeremy Webb.

“It is the hot ticket in town and I’m thrilled with that.”

Boyd says the dark comedy also asks some of life’s big questions.

“Like what’s it all about? Do we have free will or is it fate? What’s the reason for living if we know we're going to die? But he made it a comedy.”

It's a show that is expected to take the crowd on quite a ride.

“Because you’re dealing with these big heady moments the audience gets a little bit tense and then when we shot up as buffoons there like we can laugh its well written and profound,” says Monaghan.

Boyd and Monaghan are best known as hobbits in the Oscar winning 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy.

Neptune’s director let them pick their own characters in the play, and they chose the opposite from what one might predict.

“You could maybe argue that I’m a little bit more naturally inclined to be more like Guildenstern, Billy’s character, and vice versa. So, I thought it would be an opportunity for the two of us to learn a bit more about each other and stretch a little bit more as actors,” says Monaghan.

Ultimately, Webb says they were the perfect duo because of their already existing friendship.

“They come with that already there and so their rapport is key and I think it’s actually 50 per cent of the work is in that relationship.”

For weeks, the Neptune team has been working on every detail of the play, from the set to the exquisite costumes and everything in between.

“It’s definitely funny, it definitely has some bigger themes in there. But I think at the end of the evening I think people will feel like they got their money worth,” says Monaghan.

The play opens Friday and is already sold out.

“I predicted and hoped the reaction would be a huge. We have currently seen our subscription levels rise back to pre-pandemic times,” says Webb.

‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead’ will run until Feb. 25 at Neptune Theatre before packing up and heading to Toronto’s Mirvish Theatre in March.