Consequently it is a tradition of the stage to cut the play of
_Hamlet_ by the omission of more than a third. Hamlet's part is
usually retained almost in its entirety, but the speeches of every
other character are seriously curtailed. Mr Benson ventured on the
bold innovation of giving the play in full.[22]
[Footnote 22: The performance occupied nearly six hours. One half was
given in the afternoon, and the other half in the evening of the same
day, with an interval of an hour and a half between the two sections.
Should the performance be repeated, I would recommend, in the
interests of busy men and women, that the whole play be rendered at a
single sitting, which might be timed to open at a somewhat earlier
hour in the evening than is now customary, and might, if need be,
close a little later. There should be no difficulty in restricting the
hours occupied by the performance to four and a half.]
Only he who has witnessed the whole play on the stage can fully
appreciate its dramatic capabilities. It is obvious that, in whatever
shape the play of _Hamlet_ is produced in the theatre, its success
must always be primarily due to the overpowering fascination exerted
on the audience by the character of the hero.
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