Hamnet – the Best-Selling Novel and Academy Award-Winning Movie – Comes Alive at the DC’s Shakespeare Theatre Company Starring London’s Royal Shakespeare Company Cast
Hamnet
Shakespeare Theatre Company
Jordan Wright
March 20, 2026
Rory Alexander (William) and Kemi-Bo Jacobs (Agnes) in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Hamnet. (Photo/Kyle Flubacker)
Anticipation has been high for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s inaugural appearance at STC since the announcement came from Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Artistic Director, Simon Godwin, that Maggie O’Farrell’s best-selling novel, Hamnet; Director Chloé Zhao’s award-winning eponymously named movie; later adapted from the original novel by Lolita Chakrabarti into play form, was listed for a DC run, the excitement has been at fever pitch.
In London, Hamnet’s West End reviews have been full of acclaim for this play, and with this month’s Academy Award for “Best Actress in a Leading Role” win for movie actress, Jessie Buckley, this theatrical production has been wildly anticipated.
Here are my takeaways from the adaptation which have their basis in both fact and fiction.
Saffron Dey (Judith) and Ajani Cabey (Hamnet). (Photo/Kyle Flubacker)
William Shakespeare’s wife Anne Hathaway (here named Agnes) is presented as an herbalist, naturist, falconer and visionary. “I hear voices all the time,” Agnes reveals. Her passions attempt to explain how Will’s plays make countless references to animals, faeries, herbs and flowers – implying Agnes was his inspiration. As for Will’s chilly response to the death of his son, an early line from the play seems to sum up his emotions, “I write what I cannot say.”
In the play, Will’s curmudgeonly father, John, is of poor repute as a gambler, drunkard and debtor who lost their family properties through unwise money management. It is presented that he was not paying Will’s school fees, yet curiously Will is portrayed as a Latin scholar and tutor at the age of seventeen. Ultimately, John is forced to capitulate when Will’s marriage to Agnes wipes out his debt to Agnes’ brother and Will becomes wildly successful. And though the play presents Agnes’ pre-marital pregnancy as scandalous and religiously damning, it was not uncommon to be pregnant before marriage in the 16thcentury.
Whether much of this is drawn from historical documentation is questionable. Whether it informs or influences a good story, is for the viewer to decide. That it makes for good theatre with a brilliant cast of prominent actors from stage, film and TV, stunning choreography, and a fascinating script is assured.
Heather Forster (Eliza) and Kemi-Bo Jacobs (Agnes). (Photo/Kyle Flubacker)
Starring Kemi-Bo Jacobs as Agnes and Rory Alexander as William; with Troy Alexander as Bartholomew; Nigel Barrett as John/Will Kempe; Ajani Cabey as Hamnet/Thomas Day; Saffron Dey as Judith; Penny Layden as Mary; Ava Hinds-Jones as Susanna; Heather Forster as Eliza; Elizabeth Connick as Tilly; Bert Seymour as Burbage/Father John; Matilda McCarthy as Jude/Physician’s Wife & Will’s Landlady/Caterina; Nicki Hobday as Joan/Elizabeth Condell; Karl Haynes as Ned/Henry Condell/Physician.
Directed by Erica Whyman; Set and Costume Design by Tom Piper; Lighting by Prema Mehta; Music by Oğuz Kaplangi; Fight Captain Bert Seymour; Dance Captain Matilda McCarthy; Movement by Ayşe Tashkiran.
Through April 12th at the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Harman Hall, 610 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004. For tickets and information call the box office at 202.547.1122 or visit www.ShakespeareTheatre.org.