Martin Crimp's Play With Repeats is a foray into the realm of experimental disjointed theater. The plot is repetitive, as the name implies, yet serves to illustrate a greater point. Protagonist Tony is turning forty-years-old and facing that gnarly of all beasts -- the midlife crisis. He dedicates some time to revisiting his past and setting goals for his future.
As Tony revisits his past, he is troubled. He and his friend Nick mutually identify nothing of value in how Tony has spent his life. Now, other than illustrating that Nick is a bad friend and that Tony has low self-esteem, this sets up audiences for the next several body sequences of the play. Tony accepts that he owes himself another shot at his dreams. Painfully he undergoes one trial after another, which repeat and diverge in various forms. While Tony does not achieve his goal of becoming a playwright, he does exhaust his belief in value based upon accomplishment.
In the end, Tony is faced with -- himself. He must look at himself and learn to love what he sees. After half a lifetime, he struggles to accept his past. In the face of a sudden and violent death, however, Tony stumbles upon a true belief. He wants to live. He values his base existence to the point that he wants it to continue, no questions asked. While Tony has not necessarily made peace with his life by the end of the play, he is ready to accept that he ends to change how he thinks of himself in response to the difficult process of aging.
