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How would the Ghost appear on a stage with no special lighting effects, when plays were performed in the middle of the afternoon? How did the actors manage to keep action fluid when there are often a series of short scenes one after the other?

There is much we do not know about the Elizabethan stage. When the theatres were closed, a tradition died. What we do know comes from many sources; the site includes discussion of several theatres, and an example of how two scenes from Hamlet might have been staged.

• The interior of the Swan Theatre
• Hamlet staged

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