The RSC and Neal Street Productions, in association with Hera Pictures, have announced the world-premiere stage production of Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet, adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti, which will open in the newly refurbished Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon from 1 April 2023 for an eleven-week season.

Acting Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Erica Whyman, said: “I could not be more thrilled to be directing this adaptation of Hamnet.  Maggie’s beautiful novel moved and inspired me in the darkest days of lockdown as it did for so many. It is high time we heard the compelling story of Agnes Hathaway and her children, voices that have been somewhat neglected, and who offer a wholly new perspective on ‘her Poet’.

“It has been a privilege to collaborate with Lolita and her adaptation is also a celebration of the power of theatre. It is especially fitting that this production will reopen the unique Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, evoking as it does a different time in the town, one that not only gave birth to our house playwright but one which knew what it was to live through waves of pandemic, of grief and recovery. I am delighted to be collaborating once more with Tom Piper, Prema Mehta and Oğuz Kaplangi, all of whom relish the theatrical possibilities of the Swan and the emotional power of this story.

“The Swan will have been closed for three years, and we have missed it very much.  I am enormously proud of our recent history of premiering bold and ambitious new work in that space, from Oppenheimer to Hecuba to Seven Acts of Mercy to Miss Littlewood.  When we closed in 2020 we were midway through a season which included A Museum in Baghdad and The Whip and the latter has recently been included in the GCSE syllabus. It remains an essential part of the RSC’s programme to commission and produce vivid new plays with an epic imagination and Hamnet marks the beginning of a wonderful year back on that intimate stage.”

Hamnet is directed by Erica Whyman, with design by Tom Piper, lighting by Prema Mehta, music by Oğuz Kaplangi, and casting by Amy Ball CDG with further creative team to be confirmed.

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. 

Hamnet marks the official re-opening of the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon following a major refurbishment which began in January 2022.

Significant modifications to the theatre include new infrastructure for lighting, sound and video, repairs to the woodwork and brickwork, the introduction of new, wider seats with armrests in all positions replacing the previous bench seating, improved access including an increase in the number of designated wheelchair spaces and an enhanced hearing loop.

Further details of The Swan 2023 re-opening programme will be released early next year.

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