Hamnet and His Family

Learn more about the story behind the best-selling novel and Oscar-nominated film Hamnet and why we are drawn to Shakespeare as a character

Reading or watching Hamnet is an emotional journey that feels like it brings us closer to works of art that have been important to us, but how much should we believe in fictional depictions of real but little-evidenced lives?

For a long time now, writers have used Shakespeare in exactly the way Shakespeare used the kings and queens and princes in his dramas: to think through the struggles of being human.

Maggie O’Farrell’s novel and its film adaptation draw on the lives of real people to weave a tale that is a little bit history and a lot of story.

But what is information, what is speculation, and what is imagination? Join Dr Anna Kamaralli to learn what exactly we know about Shakespeare’s family and the theatre he worked in and how we go about finding out these things. Hear about the extent and limits of our knowledge, and something of the elements of the historic world that went to create Hamlet and Hamnet.

About our Speaker

Anna Kamaralli is the author of Shakespeare and the Shrew and the editor of the Arden Performance Editions Much Ado About Nothing. She is a dramaturg, theatre director, and lecturer in English and Theatre Studies, with a specialisation in theatre history. You can find her hosting the YouTube channel All Strut, No Fret.