![]() ![]() ![]() Richard Burbage was the fortunate actor for whom the leading role was written. Ophelia and Gertrude, would, of course, have been played by boys, giving extra edge to Hamlet's attacks upon women's false faces. The ghost would have entered, as did other contemporary stage ghosts, through the trap door in the stage, which also supplied the grave for Ophelia. The pillars at either side of the stage and the balcony at the rear provided useful concealment for the play's many spies. Music, fine costumes and appropriate props helped the action on. Court records note that it was performed before King James in 1619 and before King Charles in 1637.Īt the Globe playhouse (the venue for which it was written) a simple, uncluttered, thrust stage allowed for swift, fluid action and a concentration on language. The title page of the 1603 quarto edition tells us that it has been played 'by his Highness Servants in the City of London, as also in the two universities of Cambridge and Oxford, and elsewhere'. On dry land, the play's theatrical success and popularity has continued unabated since its first performances in the early 1600s. ![]()
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