Adam Zero, produced at Covent Garden in 1946, has for its subject the life of an average man, seen as though it were taking place as a ballet. The words ' All' the world's a stage * are indeed quoted at the head of the second movement. Adam is born, falls in love, marries, and achieves power and distinction. But in the end he is stripped of his glory and a new generation (the Understudy) arrives to take his place. The Stage Director works out on a blackboard the sum of Adam's life; and it adds up to zero. Harold Rutland