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
Acting Shakespeare one-man show, 'A Knight Out' (using the play on word as a result of his being knighted in 1991) but this time focusing, as well as stage roles, his now ever increasing film roles. As with Acting Shakespeare he toured around England, Europe and America to great acclaim. A predecessor of this show's format was Sir John Gielgud's Ages of Man (play) which consisted of Gielgud in front of an audience with a mixture of both speeches and anecdotes. Acting Shakespeare Acting Shakespeare is a one-man show of Shakespearean monologues interspersed with theatrical anecdotes devised and performed by Ian McKellen.