Based on the curious fact that the Scottish Presbyterian Robert Louis Stevenson and the hedonistic Paul Gauguin both ended their days on the South Sea Islands within a few years of each other, Nigel Planer's play compares and contrasts the very different, but oddly similar lives they were living in their respective tropical paradises. Deep in the Polynesian islands of the Pacific Ocean, hungry spirits circle the homes of writer Robert Louis Stevenson and artist Paul Gauguin. The path to Stevenson s grave, his Road to Paradise , is complete; he can pass on anytime he likes. But, having spent thirty years in rigorous combat with the grim reaper, is he finally ready to concede defeat? His islander maid, Java is terrified his spirit will get waylaid on its journey back to Edinburgh and stay to devour her soul. Gauguin too, is ready he has bought rum, arsenic and morphine for his suicide cocktail and is certain he is not long for this world. It seemed easy enough to avoid being arrested by the gendarme, but he'll be damned if they give him a Catholic burial in consecrated ground. Set in the strange and supernatural surroundings of Samoa and Tahiti, Death of Long Pig explores the duality of experience from the perspectives of two great artists as they usher death into their island homes. As the final hour approaches, they face the eternal question: is it how we prepare for death that really governs the way we live?