Hamnet sellout!

Hamnet company. Photo credit Joe Bailey (c) RSC

Hamnet, Swan Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon, until 17 June.

Review by Chris Arnot

Yes, Hamnet with an “n” rather than an “l” in the middle. The tragedy in this case was the loss of a young boy to one of many plagues and the effect on a family that lived locally – in Stratford, that is. They were called the Shakespeares.

One of them was christened William. He just happened to be the father of Hamnet and his twin sister Judith. She had narrowly survived the plague, partly thanks to the efforts of her otherwise mischievous brother. Yes, he had been full of life hitherto.

To misquote his father, “to be or not to be, that was the question”. And the answer was chance, pure chance.

The other big question posed by this sell-out production was whether or not a justifiably award-winning novel by Maggie O’Farrell could convert into a gripping stage adaptation by Lolita Chakrabarti. It could, is the short answer to that. The standing ovation soon after the moving reunification of William and his wife at another theatre in London confirmed that.

Maggie O'Farrell and Lolita Chakrabarti. Photo credit Joe Bailey (c) RSC

As for the play within a play that he had written and she had watched through tears, well, it confirmed that Hamnet’s name would live on forever as the title one of the four ‘great tragedies’. And never mind how it’s spelled. What the 'L' has that got to do with it?

You might as well ask why William’s wife, better known as Anne, is called Agnes on stage and in the novel.

Agnes Hathaway was a young and budding herbalist in the making in 1582 when she met her future husband in a Warwickshire field. The chemistry, or perhaps biology, between them is finely portrayed by Madeleine Mantock and Tom Varey. Both give compelling performances throughout Chakrabarti’s riveting adaptation of O’Farrell’s novel.

Many another cast-member gives their all, including Ajani Cabey in the title role. Not forgetting Peter Wright as William’s curmudgeonly father John. A glover by trade, he seemingly can’t wait to get his leathery fingers around his ‘feckless’ son’s throat. As a result, a young man bursting with potential talent hates the house where he grew up and can’t wait to get away.

Agnes would like to go with him, but she has three children and is understandably worried about the effects on their health of London’s foul air. The filth, squalor and horror of the capital’s streets and bridges at the time are brilliantly portrayed in the last chapter of O’Farrell’s novel. That’s one thing that can’t be conveyed on stage.

Madeleine Mantock and Tom Varey

No matter. This is a different art form and Chakrabarti’s adaptation will have equally packed houses on their feet to applaud for many nights to come.

*Hamnet will transfer from Stratford to the Garrick Theatre in London and run from September 30 to January 6, 2024.

Further details: https://www.rsc.org.uk/hamnet/