Extend the Story - Add a Room

Of course! They did say guilt has a funny way of showing itself. If something is to occur to remind Claudius of his crimes - say, a seeming sign of providence, or a hint that somebody knows - he might become unsettled enough to scramble and make a mistake. To that end, the actors' arrival could be very useful.

And the best part is, if luck is on your side, Claudius won't even have to know that you've had anything to do with it.

"My good lord Polonius," you ask deferentially, "what do you say we have them play? I myself love an act with a bit more substance. Maybe a tragedy, like Julius Caesar."

"Oh yes, that's a truly clever play," Polonius agrees enthusiastically. If there's one thing he can't refuse, it seems to be the opportunity to give advice. "I played Julius Caesar once myself. Brutus murdered me in the Capital. And I must say, it still astounds me that someone so close to the Caesar would betray him like that! And while I was in character, in that moment, I'd almost felt as if it was really my own best friend stabbing me in the chest. It's truly a sad tale, Julius Caesar ."

"I agree with you completely, my lord, and it really speaks volume for the quality of your acting that you were able to sympathize with your character so," you nod. "Such an end for a brilliant, beloved leader! And the shock and pain of betrayal - murder by someone who he'd considered a brother! Ah, one can contemplate those themes for a lifetime. Except such a deep, philosophical play might not suit the taste of the groundlings, who - uneducated as they are - cannot appreciate the finer subtleties of the masterpiece unlike you or I. They watch only the tales of bawdry - the promiscuous woman, the secret nights of passion - the more atrocious the better, or they sleep. We ought not to have the attendants and the serving wenches walking away with bad impressions of this fine theater company simply because they cannot appreciate caviar, my lord."

"That's true, it would be good of us to be considerate of everyone," Polonius declares magnanimously, and you can tell that he's decided on the kind of play you had in mind when his contemplative expression changes to a smug one. "My good lord Hamlet, I believe I know of a play that has elements of moth. Have you ever heard of The Murder of Gonzalo? It tells the tale of a promiscuous queen who cheats on her king husband with his nephew Lucian. Eventually, Lucian murders the king while he sleeps, and the good king Gonzalo is betrayed by the two people he regarded as the closest of kin. It's a fine depiction of the depth of depravity of sinners, and it appeals to both the intellectuals and the plebeians. A perfect solution, if I may say so myself."

"Ah, you are very knowledgeable of the fine works of theater, my lord!"

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