Here will I stand close till tha’ llarum call,
he stands behind the post.
[Sig. F3v]
Immediately thereafter Caesar and the Duke of Candie enter. Frescobaldi observes them from behind the post. The same post, or stage pillar, was probably used in the Shakespearean scenes in the same way although in all but one of the scenes there is no reference to the actor’s hiding himself. In As You Like It there are two observation scenes (II, iv; III, v) in which no evident action is taken by the observers to hide themselves. The opening scene of Antony and Cleopatra is of the same sort. In these instances the need for secrecy is much less pressing than in the other situations. Perhaps it was the practice of the characters to hide only when the situation demanded it.
Those scenes during which the observer speaks involve more complex problems of staging. Of these the “handkerchief” scene in Othello (IV, i) is the most intricate. At first, Othello, observing Iago and Cassio, can hear them laugh but cannot hear them speak. Next, he can hear them satisfactorily. Finally, he can see the handkerchief clearly when Bianca flings it at Cassio. The first phase is set by Iago’s suggestion to Othello to “encave” himself. Upon Cassio’s arrival, Iago asks Othello: “Will you withdraw?” During the scene with Cassio, Iago apparently motions to Othello to come closer, for Othello says:
Iago beckons me. Now he begins the story.
[IV, i, 135]
It is hazardous to take the description of the hiding place literally. In the course of the various observation scenes, the stage posts are apparently called “this hedge corner” (All’s Well, IV, i, 2) and “the turn” (Timon, V, i, 50). It is possible, of course, that Othello does not move, the change from his inability to hear the conversation to his ability to hear it being conveyed by his line: “Now he begins the story.” But I think it more likely that he does “encave” himself, that is, he partly hides himself behind the arras. When Iago beckons to him, he moves to one of the posts.
There is only one instance for which a property may have been used as a hiding place. In order to see the effect of the forged letter upon Malvolio, Toby, Fabian, and Andrew follow Maria’s instructions to get all three “into the box tree” (II, v, 17). If the property were used, it was probably thrust out or carried out from the enclosure and placed in the center of the stage. All the same, the box tree is not really required. No further mention is made of it. To the business and lines of the three observers, it contributes neither humor nor protection. Thus, the completeness and kind of concealment really depended upon the narrative point which had to be emphasized. Not the credibility of the observation but the clarity of its rendition governed the manner of its staging.
All the devices thus far inspected reveal the same characteristic of being no more conventional than the story requires. This is particularly true of the observation scene. Where the observer is not needed on stage until the scene that he is watching is ended, he is sent off-stage. Where the observer is needed to interrupt at one point, he is hidden simply and conveniently. Where the observer must comment on the scene before him, he is prominently placed. The yardstick is always relevance to the story. The situation is always as credible as it can be, but the creation of credibility is never an end in itself. These conditions hold true for the staging of disguise scenes too.