Hamnet by Royal Shakespeare Company and Neal Street Productions, in association with Hera Pictures at the Garrick Theatre (review)

• Published in: Shakespeare Bulletin Vol. 42; no. 1; pp. 75 - 79
• Main Author: Reidy, Evelyn
• Format: Journal Article Book Review
• Language: English
• Published: Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 01.04.2024
• Subjects: Audiences; Children; Families & family life; Grief; Shakespeare plays; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Spouses; Theater; Womens health
• ISSN: 0748-2558; 1931-1427; 1931-1427
• DOI: 10.1353/shb.2024.a928405

The result of adapting O'Farrell's 384-page story into two hours on stage was a production that felt devoid of stillness: a race-to-the-finish take on the life of the Shakespeare family that seemed determined to squeeze in as much historical detail as possible with little time to see the characters live in the everyday. There was no real attempt made in either text or performance to humanize Joan, a widow who took over a working farm and looked after eight children, all while knowing that her second husband spent his life longing for the deceased wife she replaced. While Hamnet at times glossed over the interior lives of its secondary characters, it absolutely insisted on its connections to Shakespeare, particularly in the second act, when William returned to Stratford-upon-Avon with slicked-back hair and a leather coat. If the second act of Hamnet was meant to evoke sympathy for Shakespeare leaving his grieving wife and children to "convert his grief into art," it failed by giving more stage time to Shakespeare's business dealings than his artistic process.