Sidney Bruhl, a previously successful playwright, has had a series of box office flops and is having trouble writing.

After socializing briefly, Sidney determines that there are no other carbon copies or xeroxes of the play in existence and escalates the sense that he may kill Clifford.

Both realize simultaneously that the story would make an excellent thriller and that the title Deathtrap is ideal, but immediately argue and threaten each other over whether they will share in the rewards their "one set, five character" play will undoubtedly reap.

It received a rave review from New York Times theater critic Walter Kerr, who wrote that it contained "effrontery everywhere and fun straight through".

[4] The opening cast featured: Seldes appeared in every one of the play's 1,793 performances, a feat that earned her a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records as "most durable actress.

"[5][6] Cast replacements as Sidney included Stacy Keach, John Cullum, Robert Reed, and Farley Granger.

[8] The two characters have generally been recognized as gay,[9][10] though one theater publication noted in 1983 that "The homosexuality in mainstream plays such as Deathtrap do not immediately command an audience's attention.

"[12] A revival, directed by Matthew Warchus, opened August 21, 2010, at London's Noël Coward Theatre starring Simon Russell Beale as Sidney, Claire Skinner as Myra, Jonathan Groff as Clifford, Estelle Parsons as Helga and Terry Beaver as Porter.

[13] In 2012, Levin's estate denied the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center permission to revive its production of the play.

The refusal was initially based on a short scene in which Clifford was seen nude from the rear for less than 30 seconds at the end of the first act.

Later permission was granted on condition that the staging avoid any suggestion of a physical relationship between Clifford and Sidney, and the Center chose not to proceed under that restriction.

In Deathtrap, Levin has taken the basic components of thrillers and horror stories; murder, deceit, innocent dialogue with hidden sinister meanings, plot reversals, unexpected turns of events, etc., and twisted and rearranged the pieces again and again.