ent shift of time and space is what today would be called cinematic, but the exigencies of theatrical production suggest that anything less than a fluid movement of stage elements from scene to scene would push the play into four hours presentations. Accordingly, advantage can be taken of the mechanics of flies and of wings, inasmuch as the up center Tudor doors that mask the inner below can be exchanged for half timber (Polonius's house), paneled (royal interior rooms), or wrought iron gates (garden scenes with Ophelia), as required. It is even possible that assuming unlimited budget that, however, requires the basic floor plan elements to remain in place for exterior scenes such as the plain in Denmark and the churchyard, the staircase could be covered over with a boulder/ground material. This would retain the physical plan of the stage, yet lend an extra measure of verisimilitude to the exteriors, and have the effect of containing such elements of spectacle as Fortinbras's army and Ophelia's funeral train.
The element of spectacle in lends itself to amplifying the element of thematic content in a Tudor style realization of Hamlet. Throughout the play, a good deal of attention is paid to the affairs of state. Claudius is repeatedly dispatching official letters, for example. To do so, he must interact with an assortment of ambassadors and messengers, and it is plain from the text that this involves a kind of investiture of importance for such actions. Accordingly, he cannot simply "give a paper" for delivery; it must be as it were signed and sealed as well. This is why the property plot includes so many pouches, parchments, seals, sealing wax, and the like. More generally, an important element of properties will be the materials suited to the task of showing the investment that the characters make in their use. The characters do not simply move in a straight line to get, say, a vial of unction, off the shelf. Rather, they make use...