Characters in Hamlet Characters in Hamlet What follows is an overview of the main characters in William Shakespeare's "Hamlet", followed by a list and summary of the minor characters from the play. Three different early versions of the play survive: known as the First Quarto ("Q1"), Second Quarto ("Q2"), and First Folio ("F1"), each has lines—and even scenes—missing in the others, and some character names vary. Marcellus, Bernardo (or Barnardo) and Francisco are sentries at Elsinore. Francisco gives up his watch to Bernardo in the opening of the play, and it is Bernardo and Marcellus, who first alert Horatio to the appearance of
Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble to put on a play. In rehearsing a play for performance the rehabilitative side-effects become manifest: the project develops emotional bravery and self-awareness, social skills and self-confidence, individual dedication as well as the commitment to work as a member of a team. QSE's Prison Project shares many similarities with Prison Shakespeare projects in the United State of America, the best known of which is "Shakespeare Behind Bars", though it was not directly based on any of them. In 2011, the founder of "Shakespeare Behind Bars", Curt Tofteland, visited QSE on a Fulbright Fellowship and traded skills with the facilitators of