The Title
The first thing the reader notices about Play is obviously the title. Despite being named Play, there is actually very little action or drama going on in the play. The three players/characters (M, W1, W2) are sealed in urns, do not move about the stage, and only speak to the audience when cued by the stage-light. The only actual "drama" in the entire performance is the story partially told in dialogue. It is a discordant monologue all three take part. Beckett's intention in this setting is to push the boundaries of what can be considered a "play" in the ironic sense.
Dialogue
Nearly all of Play is preformed through dialogue alone. The irony is only the audience can hear that dialogue. While M, W1, and W2 are all describing the same story (from their own perspectives) they are not talking to each other. While the three struggle to discuss what they have done, only the audience can hear what they are saying. Despite all their speaking, the three characters can not hear or talk to one another on the stage. Even then, how much the audience hears is debatable as the three often talk over or interrupt each other. In Play, despite being the main performance, not even dialogue helps explain the plot.
The Urns
Play's major component is how M, W1, and W2 are all in urns upon the stage. While positioned close to each other, the three can not hear or see another in the performance. It is only the stage-light/spotlight any of the characters see. While Beckett allows the play to take up the entire stage, very little of it is used. The three characters are sealed into the "urns" which prevent movement. While the play has the title Play, there is very little acting going on within it. The three characters are put into a stage of physical purgatory where they can not move and only speak, but they do not know to who.
The Light
The light which cues dialogue in Play is basically an unspoken fourth character. In most other plays, the role of the lights on the stage is unspoken or unnoticed. In Play though, Beckett uses the light as an actual player in the performance. While the spotlight does not talk, it is the cue which forces M, W1, and W2 to talk. In many ways, the light is the inverse of the three characters: it is silent, it is in darkness, and it is off stage, but it is still a major part of the drama. To subvert normal theater then, Samuel Beckett elevates the stage light into a major part of Play. It is the main component of the performance despite being often seen as such a minor part.
Repetition
Like many of Beckett's works, Play is highly interested in repetition. The second half of the performance is actually the first half scrambled and remixed. The final line of the play “We were not long together—“ links back to the opening lines. Even if the three characters can not hear each other, they do repeat and seem to echo similar statements. An occurrence which suggests Play might be some sort of punishment akin to purgatory. The irony being, despite all the repetition, none of the characters learn anything as they can not communicate. Most plays at least have a definitive end; Play though—as Beckett loves subverting expectations—could continue in a loop forever. It defies the most basic requirement of a performance: a conclusion.
Burning and Ash
One of the few definite plot points the audience hears in Play is how W1 burned M's belongings after discovering his affair with W2. What happened after is unknown, but it resulted in the three characters being both metaphorically and literally “sealed” in urns on the stage. The fate of being stuck in an urn (a container used to ashes—often of the dead) feels like an ironic punishment of some sort. Though not stated, it suggests Play is an ironic purgatory for the trio. While W1 burned the objects, the characters are left as “ash” in the urns unaware of one another. The situation is obviously ironic, but it is up to the audience to decide how or why it happened.
