What if you woke up on the wrong side of the play?

That is the day-by-day dilemma two minor characters in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” face in “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.”

Their fate was sealed by Hamlet, who changed Claudius’s order for Hamlet’s execution by the King of England (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern carry the order as they accompany Hamlet on a ship’s dark passage from Denmark to England) to an order for the execution of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Talk about a fool’s errand.

To paraphrase Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” opening line: “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were dead, to begin with.” Here, as there, there’s more to the story.

The rest of the story is what makes Tom Stoppard’s “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” so fascinating and compelling, especially in the astute production directed by PA Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Jason King Jones, through Aug. 2, Main Stage, Labuda Center for the Performing Arts, DeSales University. The opening night July 19 performance was seen for this review.

When first we meet them in “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” at PSF, we hear their disembodied voices in a dark theater. Attention must be paid. When they appear in view, we witness wordplay as fast as their coin flips.

Whereas before they were in the wings, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are now center stage. Scenes from “Hamlet” scoot by like King Hamlet’s Ghost. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are perplexed, intrigued and drawn like moths to the fateful flame.

It’s theater of the absurd by way of Shakespeare. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are not unlike Vladimir and Estragon in Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting For Godot:” (1953). But Godot never comes.

Similarly, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern ruminate on their existence, predicament and fates. Existence to the end, you might say. Are they real? Are they ghosts? Are they ghosting us?

The play evokes themes explored in Luigi Pirandello’s “Six Characters in Search of an Author” (1921), addressing the very nature and fabric of theater craft and of reality itself.

There’s the freewheeling spirit of Commedia dell’arte (circa 16th century) whereby performers improvise based on a gag or joke. “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” is indeed scripted. It feels as if it’s not. That’s a good thing. The masks are off.

The play is not so much an exploration of Freudian repression, as in “Hamlet,” as of universal archetypes, the over soul and the collective unconscious as represented by two clowns, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

With Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the joke’s on them. Or is it? Stoppard places rapier wit, keen observations and monologues in their mouths that not so much mimic Shakespeare, as match The Bard’s mighty words or even surpass them. The Players put on their show, “The Murder of Gonzago,” as they did in “Hamlet,” but this time it’s as if reflected in a fun-house mirror. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are looking in and on the proceedings. They don’t need no gravedigger. They are digging their own grave. And they are having fun doing it. And we the theater-goer laugh at their antics.

Taken together (The two plays in repertory at PSF should be seen together.), “Hamlet” and “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” raise enormous questions in this Age of AI, Deep Fakes and Silo Newscasts. It’s the landmark “Everything Everywhere All At Once” (2022) movie on stage, whereby alternate realities compete for our eyeballs, doom-scrolling, cults of celebrity personalities, other distractions (this review, for instance) and our own sanity clause (if you can believe that). To quote those great southern rock philosophers The Doobie Brothers, as co-written by Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald, “What a Fool Believes, he sees” (1978). Or as that great comic strip philosopher Pogo, as penned by Walt Kelly (1913-1973), stated, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

The staging of “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead,” by Scenic and Lighting Designer Brian Sidney Bembridge at PSF evokes the minimalism of Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) and is a significant part of the show. At sea, a backdrop represents huge multi-colored Maersk-style cargo shipping containers. Actors cleverly pop up from oil barrels like Wack-A-Mole. You can never keep a good actor down.

Director Jason King Jones brings speed, dexterity, panache and charming fun to “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.” The actors seem to be encouraged to take complete ownership of their roles, and to great success.

Sean Close brings a boyishness, gullibility and vulnerability to the role of Rosencrantz. His character will believe anything and seems to want to. He has a relaxed stage presence that draws you in.

Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Guildenstern represents the brains behind the two. He creates a character that has rapid-fire delivery, sharp and angular body language and tremendous energy. He has an intense stage presence that is undeniable.

Ian Merrill Peakes as Leading Player steals the show. He creates a character that is fierce with piercing eyes and an athletic stance. When Peakes’ Leading Player is on the stage, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are, ironically, supporting players again.

The “Hamlet” cast is back: Biko Eisen-Martin (Hamlet), Pepin (Ophelia), Akeem Davis (Claudius), Grace Gonglewski (Gertrude), Eric Hissom (Polonius), Damien J. Wallace (King Hamlet/Tragedian), Taysha Marie Canales (Horatio), Arrianna Daniels (Marcellus/Tragedian), Darin F. Earl II (Bernardo/Tragedian), Relena Kiser (Voltemand/Ensemble), Ian Higgins (Tragedian), David Pica (Laertes/Tragedian), Ryan Plunkett (Tragedian), David Andrew Laws (Renaldo/Tragedian) and Shawn Laub (Ensemble).

Costume Designer is Nancy Leary. Sound Designer is David M. Greenberg.

Though we may not know where or when we encounter Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” (Are they dead or alive?), their characters live on at PA Shakespeare Festival in “Hamlet” and especially in “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.” Thanks to Tom Stoppard, they are couched in therapy. Thanks to director Jason King Jones and the PSF repertory company, they live and breathe on stage as immortals. They are forever Jung.

“Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead,” 7:30 p.m., July 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 26. Aug. 1; 2 p.m. July 27, 30, Aug. 2; 6:30 p.m. July 29, PA Shakespeare Festival, Main Stage Theatre, Labuda Center for the Performing Arts, DeSales University, 2755 Station Avenue, Center Valley. 610-282-9455, https://pashakespeare.org/