I had a very Shakespeare-themed day yesterday!

First off — HAMNET

I got to see an advance screening of Hamnet.

This film is based on a 2020 historical fiction novel by Maggie O’Farrell about the life of Agnes/Anne Hathaway (Shakespeare’s wife) and the death of Hamnet (one of their children). This novel won the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and has since been adapted for stage and, now, for screen. It releases in the UK on the 9th January.

It’s under embargo until then (so I can’t review it) but I will say it’s deeply sensitive and moving. And interweaves Hamlet, the play, really beautifully at the end. No mean feat…!

Secondly — A MID-WINTER(?) NIGHT’S DREAM

I went to see a rather strange adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. Bit of a strange one to pick for December, I think (why not, for instance, The Winter’s Tale?)!

In any case, they went with a kind of Slavic theme — with the fairies dresses as Bolshoi Ballet dancers, and Theseus as a despotic dictator. There was, bizarrely, some music (Billie Eilish, Robbie Williams…?) and a lot of fake snow.

Yet, despite the director’s best attempts to absolutely ruin the play, the actors understood that it’s a marriage comedy, not a tragedy. They carried it off just fine. Especially Helena and Bottom!