] Well, in the bigger picture it think the presence of so much talk about acting and plays is because this play is all about appearances. Everyone is playing a role [snip] ... but I wonder if all of the characters who die are somehow pretending to be something they are not and those that are left standing (Fortinbras and Horatio) are just as we see them?

I had never thought of that, but now that you set it out, I definitely agree that there's a lot to what you say.