Review: HAMNET, Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

What's in a name? That which we call William, Hamlet or Anne still smells as sweet when we see their historical origins in this adaptation by Lolita Chakrabarti of Maggie O'Farrell's 2020 novel.

Directed by Erica Whyman for the RSC, Hamnet arrives at the refurbished Swan Theatre in Stratford-on-Avon ahead of a London run at the Garrick this autumn. It focusses on two figures that came to shape William Shakespeare's life and career: his wife Agnes and his eponymous son. While he was married for four decades and Hamnet was only in his life for just over one, these relationships inspired both the plot and the characters of his most profound work.

We first meet the teenage Will (not William, yet) teaching Latin to Agnes' younger siblings. The pair soon become lovers and, when Agnes becomes pregnant, Shakespeare's family initially resist their desire to marry. An arrangement is made between the families which enables Agnes to escape her hated stepmother and stay with Will's family. Soon after, she gives birth to a daughter Susanna and later twins Judith and Hamnet. Meanwhile, Will's playwrighting takes him to London where he seeks fame and fortune (spoiler: he succeeds).

Madeleine Mantock's powerful performance as Agnes is the lodestone of this cast. Barely recorded by history (even her true name was only discovered recently), the near-forgotten wife is shown here as having an other-worldly connection with the dead, hearing her son's voice long before he is born; consequently, Hamnet is a whispered presence long before he makes his physical appearance. Her influence on her husband's work is shown throughout: the way she steadfastly refuses to give up Will in the face of opposition from their families recalls Juliet while her knowledge of herbs and flowers point to Ophelia.

Portraying the bard both as a youth and an adult, Tom Varey doesn't entirely convince but there is plenty of support from elsewhere. Chakrabarti does well to enunciate the personalities around Will, especially his brutish glovemaker father John (Peter Wight) who stomps like a demon when not castigating all around him. The mother/daughter relationship is compellingly explored through different pairings, not least between Agnes and her stepmother Joan (a gripping Sara Belcher).

Whyman's pacy direction and the actors' dynamic movement care of Ayse Tashkiran carries along us all in its wake. Having the scenery built up then removed over and over again by the cast adds a jaunty flavour to proceedings while having the action set in the round in superb lighting and music (from Prema Mehta and Oğuz Kaplangı respectively) gives Hamnet an immersive feel even as we switch from Stratford to London and back. How much of this play's wonderfully febrile atmosphere will carry over to the Garrick's black box setup remains to be seen.

Hamnet continues at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon until 17 June before transferring to the Garrick from 30 September.

Photo credit: Manuel Harlan

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