Introduction: Theatrical Events

Abstract

On leaving a theatre and being asked what was most remarkable in a performance of Hamlet, most people will be likely to speak about one person in the play. Among many different answers, they may remember Hamlet when he swore revenge or first saw Ophelia, the Ghost on his entry, or the First Player weeping for Hecuba. Encounters, too, may be remembered: Hamlet seeing the Ghost and then listening to him, or seeing Claudius and deciding not to kill him; the long meeting with his mother in her closet; his encounter with Yorick’s skull, his struggle with Laertes in Ophelia’s grave or their final fight together. A few memories may concern figures isolated among others: Gertrude sitting and wringing her hands, the Polish Captain remaining on stage to answer Hamlet, Osric flourishing his hat, Fortinbras entering to face the on-stage carnage. The odds are high that these memories will not be concerned with verbal statements or arguments, or the meaning of the play: the primary memory will be of performance, of an actor’s presence and what he or she does.¹ The words of the playtext may not have registered at all.