O’Farrell & Chakrabarti Celebrate Women’s Natural Wisdom

by Mary Lou Herlihy

In a brilliant reimagining of Anne Hathaway’s life, Royal Shakespeare Company’s “Hamnet” conquers the stage. As Anne/Agnes, passionate Kemi-Bo Jacobs awakens deep emotions in young Will, played by dazzling Rory Alexander.

Agnes’ mystical connections to nature and her fierce independence stir Will’s passion and imagination. The two young lovers marry and have three children. Their only son, Hamnet (delightful Ajani Cabey) dies of the plague, and inspires his father’s “Hamlet.”

Scenic designer Tom Piper’s massive wooden scaffolding of raised platforms and angled ladders seamlessly transforms into a multitude of imagined spaces. Finally, the set morphs into a brilliant, colorful backdrop with decorated balconies—the glorious Globe Theater!

The production soars, revealing Agnes’ connection to nature, imbuing her with mystical powers in a hostile Elizabethan world. Haunting sounds evoke the WHOOSHING of wings, or agonizing cries of a trapped bird. Ominous whispers murmur words beyond our grasp.

Even Agnes’ native remedies cannot protect her son from the pestilence. When eleven-year-old Hamnet dies, we feel a collective anguish. In their world, as in ours, communities of women support one another through excruciating hardships.

Elizabethan England is not safe for women. Will’s mother, Mary (formidable Penny Layden) says, “He’s not going to be able to control her.” The priest who marries them warns Agnes that she belongs to Will now and must obey him.

As Agnes, Jacobs commands our attention with soulful gravitas. After three births and a death, we know Agnes’ greatest joy and her darkest despair. Her wails of physical and emotional pain echo, chillingly.

The fiercely independent Agnes gives birth on her own inexplicable terms, alone, in the magical woods. Elder daughter Susanna (joyful Ava Hinds-Jones) arrives through a soft white ribbon flowing across the stage. Years later, we agonize with Agnes in labor, fighting to return to her forest den.

Agnes and Will suffer at the hands of cruel parents, vowing to protect each other from further harm. Agnes’ stepmother Joan (powerful Nicki Hobday) wants to throw Agnes out on the street. Will’s father John (forceful Nigel Barrett) angrily knocks books out of Will’s hands, outraged at his son’s bookishness.

Act II moves us closer to Will’s work, as we excitedly watch the boy become The Bard. Will Kempe (hilarious Nigel Barrett), his clown, has us in stitches, adding ridiculous flourishes to Romeo. The audience groans and guffaws loudly.

The plague looms and we recoil when a sickened actor coughs open mouthed onto another. Unknown to Will, one of his children is deathly ill. As his family suffers, Will rehearses in London. His blissful ignorance contrasts dramatically with the horrors at home.

Hamnet’s death imperils Will and Agnes’ bond. As Agnes slips toward madness, slumped and still, Will races back to London, to relieve his crushing sorrow. “I can’t breathe here,” he says to Agnes. And we witness the first performance of the most famous work of dramatic literature.

Hamnet whispers, “Remember me.” But WE will remember Agnes. Though the production is stuffed with story, the wisdom of Agnes shines through.

 

“Hamnet” by Maggie O’Farrell, adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti, directed by Erica Whyman, scenic & costume design by Tom Piper, lighting by Prema Mehta, music by Oğuz Kaplangi, and sound by Simon Baker, by The Royal Shakespeare Company & Neal Street Productions, at American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco.

Info: act-sf.org – to May 24, 2026.

Cast: Kemi-Bo Jacobs, Rory Alexander, Troy Alexander, Nigel Barrett, Ajani Cabey, Elizabeth Connick, Saffron Dey, Heather Forster, Karl Haynes, Ava Hinds-Jones, Nicki Hobday, Penny Layden, Matilda McCarthy, and Bert Seymour.

Banner photo: Kemi-Bo Jacobs (Agnes) & Rory Alexander (William). Photos by Kyle Flubacker