Surviving as a Plagiarist in Another World - Chapter 28: Hamlet

< Chapter 28: Hamlet – 2 >

The expression “like a movie” was somewhat insufficient to describe the magical wonder. It felt… like a dream.

Although the actors were performing right before one’s eyes, the surrounding environment constantly changed, as if the world existed solely for the actors, harmonizing with them.

Thus, it was a strange experience.

[Hamlet: To be, or not to be, that is the question.]

This performance was purely theatrical.

When Hamlet delivered his soliloquy, he appeared as if praying alone, despite standing among the other actors.

It seemed as though there was an invisible wall between him and the others, rendering him solitary in his monologue.

Even the magically conjured alternate world couldn’t engulf the actor.

[Hamlet: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.]

This highlighted the difference between theater and cinema.

In a movie, every character belongs to that world, but a theater actor belongs solely to the play.

The world does not exist.

If only the actor and the play exist, anywhere can become the stage for a play.

Therefore, without the play, theater is nothing, regardless of the most dazzling magic.

When I realized the nature of the disappointment I felt while watching “Alice in Wonderland,” Hamlet shouted to Ophelia just as he finished his monologue.

“—Lady, if you pray, remember my sins too!”

I became immersed in this ‘play.’ When I came to my senses, the audience was standing, applauding the actors. I joined them.

* * *

“Hamlet” was performed in most theaters throughout the empire. The difference from the novel was that, no matter how many theaters showed it, only a few who could secure tickets could watch it.

Consequently, the play “Hamlet” functioned as a form of high culture. Nobles, merchants, and the wealthy spared no expense to see it.

“Oh, how tragic… I’ve been captivated by the play, and I’ve watched it three times already. Every time I watch it, I notice something new… Truly, Homer is a genius!”

“Hoho, I’ve watched it five times. But did you know? There are actually two versions of the ‘Hamlet’ script.”

“What?”

The fact that one had seen the play multiple times became a symbol of wealth. During this process, it was revealed that there were two different versions of the “Hamlet” script, prompting more audiences to revisit the theater.

“Apparently, he wrote it with two of his disciples! It seems they are named after the disciples, called the Camel version and the Plummer version.”

“If it’s Camel, isn’t that the disciple who wrote ‘Alice in Wonderland’ together with him?”

To cool down the fervor, Kindersley Publishing officially released the script of ‘Hamlet,’ but it didn’t have much effect. Instead, it only amplified the readers’ desire to see the ‘play.’

And, there were always those who turned people’s desires into money.

“Tickets! Give me tickets! How much do you want?”

“Hmm, I also got this with difficulty…. How much are you willing to pay?”

Scalpers began to run rampant.

* * *

“Ha ha! Stuttering fool! Look at the overwhelming audience ratings!”

“Th-the ratings are n-not overwhelming… It’s only a 3% difference. A-actually, my version g-got better reviews for the script…”

“Tsk, critics are just fools who even disparage Homer’s works. Their reviews mean nothing.”

“B-but I won, didn’t I?”

“Homer said to be judged by the audience, so my victory stands!”

“Look at this. The Plummer version of Hamlet is full of shallow and exaggerated phrases… Camel’s version is the pinnacle of Homer’s artistry….”

“Critics’ reviews mean nothing!”

The relationship between Hamlet’s two authors, Rolls Camel and Ian Plummer, was like that of a dog and a cat. Ian Plummer, filled with aristocratic pride, was actually closer to a popular artist in terms of his art.

When revising Hamlet’s lines, he considered the audience’s perspective as much as possible, focusing on intuitive and easy-to-listen-to dialogue.

Rolls Camel, a stutterer, was a typical artist trapped in his own world. When revising Hamlet’s lines, he immersed himself in his own artistic fervor, striving to fill them with the most novel and beautiful phrases.

Thus, they couldn’t help but growl at each other. They were complete opposites.

“Homer! What do you think? I got higher audience ratings, so it’s my victory, right?”

“Aren’t my lines better? Homer…?”

“Um, can’t we just call it a tie? Both were really good. Why must there be a winner?”

“What? But Homer, you said─.”

“I suggested publishing both to see how they would be received. It’s honestly fun to see people’s reactions, isn’t it?”

I had no intention of judging which was better. I didn’t have the qualifications, and more importantly, I lacked the ability to evaluate. To me, both were incredibly enjoyable.

If I could enjoy more literature, that would be enough for me.

“In the audience evaluation, Ian Plummer won, and in the critic evaluation, Rolls Camel won. Isn’t that enough?”

“…Understood.”

Ian Plummer seemed unconvinced, though.

“Hmm, Ian. Have you read the novel ‘Count of Monte Cristo’?”

“Ah, yes. Since it took first place from us, of course I’ve read it.”

“Did you find it interesting?”

“…Yes.”

“Isn’t it more interesting than my novels?”

“No, that’s not it. It’s full of internal setting errors and the historical research is a mess.”

“But it’s fun, isn’t it?”

“……”

“Many readers say that ‘Count of Monte Cristo’ is more interesting than my novels. So, does that mean I lost to ‘Herodotus’?”

“…No.”

“Right?”

“…Yes.”

Actually, ‘Herodotus’ is another one of my pen names, but Ian Plummer doesn’t know that.

So this analogy should be effective.

“It’s good to be competitive, but I hope you don’t get too hung up on results or winning and losing. Literature itself is too beautiful to classify as a winning or losing work, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Instead, hmm, since Ian Plummer got a higher score in the audience evaluation… how about this?”

“……”

“When Ian Plummer publishes another work, I’ll write a recommendation for it.”

“…!!!”

In truth, it wasn’t such a great privilege.

I never intended to withhold my recommendations, and I had already written one for the long fairy tale by Rolls Camel.

So, in the end, what Rolls Camel received and what Ian Plummer received were no different.

“Th-thank you! I will work hard!”

But in such matters, making a show of it is important.

Ian Plummer was so moved he stuttered. It was a bit amusing, considering he usually called Camel a stutterer.

I nodded appropriately and continued speaking.

“Then, let’s leave this discussion here… Do you know about the ‘scalpers’ exploiting the Hamlet play for huge profits these days?”

“Ah, yes. Isn’t that typical of merchants? They have no sense of honor and view art merely as a means to make money. Beastmen have inherent flaws, but merchants, despite being human, exploit their own kind, making them particularly despicable.”

Ian Plummer rambled on, disparaging merchants indiscriminately. As the son of a council noble, it seemed he particularly disliked merchants who profited through monopolies.

Personally, I didn’t harbor such negative views about merchants, but the issue with scalpers was different. Scalpers were parasites that gnawed away at the cultural and artistic community.

“It’s only natural for merchants to seek profit… but exploiting my work to hold audiences hostage and gouge them is something I can’t overlook. The opportunity to pursue cultural experiences should be fairly accessible to everyone.”

“You’re absolutely right!”

It was acceptable for the wealthy to pay a premium to purchase tickets from others.

One couldn’t fault someone for prioritizing money over culture.

However, scalpers, through hoarding, stripped away even the minimal chance for the poor to luckily catch a performance.

The results might not be fair, but opportunities should be.

“But currently, there’s no legal basis to punish scalpers, so I plan to include a warning against such ‘scalping’ practices in the preface when publishing the play… Since it’s also the work of you two students, I’d like to hear your opinions.”

I intended to sway public opinion just as I had when publishing the second part of Don Quixote.

Upon hearing this, Ian Plummer suddenly grinned triumphantly and raised his voice.

“In that case, leave it to me!”

“Yes?”

“My father is ‘Count Plummer.’ He’s the leader of the Conservative Party in the House of Lords. He can pass a law quickly.”

“Oh.”

“If you, Homer, just write a statement about your stance on ‘scalping,’ I will handle public opinion perfectly. Ha ha!”

* * *

“Excuse me, did you come to buy Hamlet tickets? Well, how much are you willing to pay? It’s gotten so popular lately that regular prices just won’t cut it…”

“Arrest them all.”

“Yes, sir!”

“W-what? What is this?! Let me go! Do you know who I am?!”

“Ha, I’d rather ask you. What gave you the confidence to exploit ‘his’ work for profit?”

One week.

That was the time it took to completely eradicate the scalpers who had been gnawing away at the empire’s cultural and artistic community.