Hamnet - RSC Swan Theatre / Garrick

[Deleted]

The book is called Hamnet. The stage adaptation of the book is called Hamnet.
The book was wildly popular worldwide (1.5 million copies sold), received tons of media attention, and its name is very well-known.

To think this is some sort of intentional effort from the theatre to mislead potential patrons makes little sense. Any marketer would wisely want to capitalize on the popularity of the book by using its name as the title for the play.

[cirque]

odd isnt it. EW was never AD-only acting and yet is dominating most RSC news and programme.
New AD s will probably release season after the current work is moving to a close so it is not swamped by press for EW Ben and Imo...

hopeful

[lynette]

Oct 8, 2023 11:04:03 GMT @stevea said:

The book is called Hamnet. The stage adaptation of the book is called Hamnet.
The book was wildly popular worldwide (1.5 million copies sold), received tons of media attention, and its name is very well-known.

To think this is some sort of intentional effort from the theatre to mislead potential patrons makes little sense. Any marketer would wisely want to capitalize on the popularity of the book by using its name as the title for the play.

Yes, sorry, bit of a wind up. But actually if you speak to the Box Office there, in the beginning there was some confusion. 

[barelyathletic]

Saw this at Stratford. Thought it was a pretty dull and fairly disappointing adaptation of an interesting book. It looked lovely in the Swan but the Garrick is a pretty horrible venue, I think. They'll have to work hard to make this an exciting evening but it will probably sell well on the basis of it being an enormously popular novel. If it had been an original play I doubt it would have managed the move to the West End. Three stars at a stretch.

[Mark]

For anyone who's seen it in London, that famous theatreboard question...... How high is the stage?

[sfsusan]

If I didn't like (and didn't get far into) the book, but find the idea interesting, do you think I'd like the play any better?

[theatre22]

Oct 16, 2023 22:34:48 GMT Mark said:

For anyone who's seen it in London, that famous theatreboard question...... How high is the stage?

It’s not very high for this one which was a very good change from some of the musicals I have seen there in the front row eg Drifters Girl.

[AddisonMizner]

I went to see the matinee of this today. Overall, I felt this was just okay.

I haven’t read the book, but I just didn’t find this particularly engaging. I was trying to diagnose why this was, and I think it may be due to the fact that it was quite disjointed. There are many short scenes, each with transitions where scenery is slightly shifted, and this ultimately kills any tension or emotional impact. They could have done away with these, and I believe it would have had a much better effect. I also felt that some moments were rushed, such as in key scenes between Shakespeare and Agnes, so they didn’t land as effectively as they could have.

Some of the acting was also over-egged, particularly from some of the side characters, with unnecessary shouting and wailing.

That being said, there were some positives too. I liked the structure, with the first half showing the early, blossoming relationship between Agnes and Shakespeare ending with the birth of their children, and the second half picking up years later with the death of Hamnet, the impact this has on the central relationship, and how Shakespeare’s writing of HAMLET ultimately brings about healing.

The simplicity of the set was also a plus.

Madeleine Mantock as Agnes was also very watchable, and I would like to see what she does next.

Glad I went, despite my misgivings.

3 stars.

[Mark]

I got a last minute ticket today in the front row for £25 - a total bargain and high recommend for that price - the stage it not high.

I did really enjoy it, having never read the book. It was easy to follow and I thought the performances were really solid. I do agree with some earlier comments - I didn’t get the reason why the story is called “Hamnet” since said character isn’t the main focal point.
Was very full today, nice to see a play doing well.

[Jan]

Apr 30, 2023 22:42:00 GMT lynette said:

The title isn't alright is it? The play has to be about the son to be so titled. It isn't. 

That comment should be directed at the book not the play. Why is the book called Hamnet ? Even the publisher obviously had misgivings as it was changed in some markets to Hamnet and Judith. Why wasn't it called Agnes ? (That's a rhetorical question) 

[cavocado]

Hamnet isn't the main character in terms of dialogue or time on stage or pages in the book, but his conception, birth, and the love and grief that other characters feel for him propel much of the narrative, so in a sense it is a play about him. The title seems fine to me, though I thought it was an average play.

[joem]

A faithful adaptation of the novel, barring the continual time switches in the novel which would simply have been too confusing on stage, especially for those unfamiliar with the novel.

Competent rather than exciting, the style and production will be familiar to anyone who's ever attended an RSC production. Well acted, brisk (sometimes a little too much so) with music - which sometimes jars in its modernity - and a good use of space, especially in the conversion of the stage to the Globe Theatre in its last scene.

Clearly the play is not about Hamnet, even less than the novel was since his character's role in the play is diminished by the (correct) decision to present the narrative in a linear fashion, but he has a crucial role in how the characters of Agnes (Anne Hathaway) and Shakspear and their relationship develops. It is the name of the novel so it would have been confusing to have given it a different name, in my view.