Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and Neal Street Productions in association with Hera Pictures today announce casting for the West End transfer of Hamnet, directed by Erica Whyman and adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti (Life of Pi). The production had a sell-out run at the RSC, breaking box office records at the Swan Theatre and will open to the biggest box office advance in the Garrick Theatre’s history.
Reprising their roles from the RSC’s Stratford-upon-Avon run are Sarah Belcher (Joan), Will Brown (Burbage/Father John), Ajani Cabey (Hamnet), Frankie Hastings (Eliza/Customer), Karl Haynes (Ned), Alex Jarrett (Judith), Madeleine Mantock (Agnes Hathaway), Hannah McPake (Jude), Tom Varey (William Shakespeare) and Peter Wight (John/Will Kempe). Further casting is still to be announced.
Warwickshire, 1582. Agnes Hathaway, a natural healer, meets the Latin tutor, William Shakespeare. Drawn together by powerful but hidden impulses, they create a life together and make a family.
As William moves to London to discover his place in the world of theatre, Agnes stays at home to raise their three children but she is the constant presence and purpose of his life.
When the plague steals 11-year-old Hamnet from his loving parents, they must each confront their loss alone. And yet, out of the greatest suffering, something of extraordinary wonder is born.
The production will feature Set and Costume Design by Tom Piper, Lighting by Prema Mehta, Sound Design by Simon Baker, Music by Oğuz Kaplangi, Casting by Amy Ball CDG, Movement by Ayse Tashkiran and Fights by Kate Waters.
Earlier this week, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) also announced the return of its in-house podcast, Interval Drinks, with the first episode featuring Maggie O’Farrell, interviewed by Erica Whyman. They discuss Hamnet, the novel and the process of putting it on stage, as well as Hamlet and autobiography in fiction, including the part Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, plays in his work. Each episode of the series is available to download for free via the RSC website, as well as multiple podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts (formerly iTunes).
Hamnet has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide and was named both Waterstones Book of the Year and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in 2020. The novel also saw Maggie O’Farrell named the winner of the 2020 Women’s Prize for Fiction; the UK’s most prestigious annual book award celebrating and honouring fiction written by women. As the No. 1 Sunday Times Bestseller in 2021, Hamnet was shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction (2021) and British Book awards ‘Fiction Book of the Year’ (2021).
The production runs from 30 September 2023 to 6 January 2024 with press night on 18 October.
