‘Charmed’ Star Madeleine Mantock to Headline Royal Shakespeare Company Adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s ‘Hamnet’
27.02.2023 - 14:45
/ variety.com
Naman Ramachandran Madeleine Mantock (“Charmed”) will make her Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) debut with “Hamnet,” the stage adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s bestselling novel. Set in 1582, “Hamnet” follows Agnes Hathaway, a natural healer who meets the Latin tutor, William Shakespeare and they create a life together and make a family. As Shakespeare moves to London to discover his place in the world of theater, Hathaway stays at home to raise their three children. 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.
Mantock will play Hathaway with Tom Varey playing Shakespeare, also making his RSC debut. The cast also includes Peter Wight, Sarah Belcher, Will Brown, Haydn Burke, Ajani Cabey, Faye Campbell, Frankie Hastings, Karl Haynes, Alex Jarrett, Hannah McPake, Rose Riley, Elizabeth Rider, Harmony Rose-Bremner and Obioma Ugoala.
“Hamnet,” produced by the RSC and Neal Street Productions, in association with Hera Pictures, is adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti (“Life of Pi”) and directed by RSC acting artistic director Erica Whyman. The production will feature set and costume design by Tom Piper, lighting by Prema Mehta, sound by Xana, music by Oğuz Kaplangi, casting by Amy Ball CDG, movement by Ayse Tashkiran and fights by Kate Waters. Chakrabarti said: “Writing this play was made even more challenging due to the huge impact Maggie O’Farrell’s novel has had. Every reader seems to have a very personal relationship to this story. Shakespeare is studied, examined and lauded across the world and at times, it has felt presumptuous of me to add my own flavor to this iconic man. When I