Producers are delighted to announce the first UK tour of the Royal Shakespeare Company and Neal Street’s acclaimed stage production of Hamnet, previously seen in the West End.
Based on Maggie O’Farrell’s best-selling novel, now also an Oscar-winning film, Hamnet has been adapted for the stage by award-winning playwright Lolita Chakrabarti (Life of Pi, Red Velvet, Hymn). This powerful story is a love letter to passion, birth, grief and the magic of nature. The production will open at Lowry, Salford, on 25 September 2027. The touring production will then visit Norwich 19-23 Oct 2027, with further dates to be announced.
Directed by former RSC Deputy and Acting Artistic Director Erica Whyman and featuring set design by Tom Piper, Hamnet premiered at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, breaking box office records before transferring to the West End and opening in 2023 to the biggest advance at the time recorded in the Garrick Theatre’s history. Now audiences across the UK can experience this critically acclaimed play which pulls back the curtain on the story of the greatest writer in the English language and the woman who was the constant presence and purpose of his life.
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.
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.
Maggie O’Farrell said: “It’s wonderful to know that the RSC/Neal Street production of Hamnet is embarking on a tour of the UK. The production goes from strength to strength and it’s lovely that more people will get to see it.”
Lolita Chakrabati said: “I am so thrilled that Hamnet is returning to the stage here in Britain. I was very aware of the enormous responsibility of making these historical figures relatable and to make them live again. William Shakespeare’s reach is beyond compare and everyone without exception has some knowledge of his life, his works, his stories and his language. To try and humanise a man of such reach is a humbling thing. But in the end, this is a story about family – an eleven year old boy and the people around him. It has been an absolute privilege to imagine Shakespeare himself, his wife, mother, father, sister, daughters and his only son. I am very excited to bring this tale of love, loss and rebirth to so many cities in the UK.”
Erica Whyman said: “I am thrilled that we will be able to tell this beautiful and moving story on stages across the UK. Lolita’s adaptation is deft, funny, and wonderfully accessible and I always enjoy being in a rehearsal room with her words and the world of Hamnet. It is a love story with a remarkable woman and her family at its heart, but it is also a love letter to the theatre, to Shakespeare and the miraculous capacity of the human imagination. I have spent my career advocating for UK touring so I’m especially pleased to be working with Fiery Angel and Neal Street so that we can share this production with so many new audiences all over the country.”
RSC Co-Artistic Directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey said: “We are delighted that Hamnet will be embarking on its first ever tour of the UK next year, having entranced audiences in both the US, the West End and having played to sell-out audiences in Stratford during its premiere in the Swan Theatre in 2023. It’s wonderful to know that even more people will have the opportunity to experience Lolita Chakrabarti’s beautiful adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s bestselling novel, which offers a compelling new perspective on Shakespeare through the eyes of Agnes Hathaway and their children. We can’t wait to share this intimate and moving story with audiences across the UK in 2027.”
Full casting and creative team details will be announced soon.