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TONIGHT'S broadcast production of Hamlet will not be a complete version of the play as written. Great care has, however, been taken to ensure that the best which Shakespeare at almost his greatest has given us shall be retained. Hamlet is, as far as stage or microphone presentations go, the finest of the tragedies, though, as a sheer resplendent work of genius, it is excelled by King Lear, a play which makes such demands upon the actors and the stage as to render its production seldom possible. Hamlet is, par excellence, a ' microphone play,' though at such moments as the killing of Polonius and the final bloody climax, its action becomes visual. The true and moving drama of the piece lies in its dialogue, which contains many lovely and familiar lines. The part of the Prince of Denmark has set the seal upon the reputation of many great tragic actors in England, France, Germany and Italy. Tonight's is the first important Shakespearian broadcast since the production, on St. George's Day, of Henry V.

2LO London and 5XX Daventry

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