RSC's 'Hamnet' Announces First U.K. Tour for 2027–2028

The Royal Shakespeare Company's stage adaptation of "Hamnet" will tour the U.K. for the first time, opening at The Lowry in Salford on Sept. 25, 2027. Fiery Angel and Neal Street Productions present the touring version of a show that set box office records at the RSC's Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2023.

The play is Lolita Chakrabarti's adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's novel about William Shakespeare's family and the death of his 11-year-old son. Erica Whyman, the RSC's former deputy and acting artistic director, directs, with sets by Tom Piper. Casting and the rest of the creative team have yet to be announced.

What's the route?

The autumn 2027 leg covers nine cities before pausing for Christmas:

• The Lowry, Salford: Sept. 25–Oct. 2, 2027
• Theatre Royal Newcastle: Oct. 5–9, 2027
• Hall for Cornwall, Truro: Oct. 12–16, 2027
• Norwich Theatre Royal: Oct. 19–23, 2027
• Theatre Royal Nottingham: Oct. 26–30, 2027
• Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury: Nov. 2–6, 2027
• The Alexandra, Birmingham: Nov. 9–13, 2027
• Theatre Royal Glasgow: Nov. 16–20, 2027
• Theatre Royal Bath: Nov. 23–27, 2027

The producers say performances resume in 2028 with stops at the Grand Opera House, Belfast (Jan. 18–22); the Grand Opera House, York (Feb. 1–5); New Wimbledon Theatre, London (March 7–11); and Mayflower Theatre, Southampton (March 21–25). More dates will be added later.

Why this production keeps traveling

The show's track record explains the touring push. After its 2023 Stratford premiere, it moved to the Garrick Theatre in the West End, where it opened with the biggest advance (pre-sale box office) the venue had seen up to that point. Whyman has already taken the production on a U.S. tour.

The source material carries its own weight. O'Farrell's novel won the Women's Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and it has since become an Oscar-winning film, which Neal Street also produced.

"It's wonderful to know that the RSC/Neal Street production of 'Hamnet' is embarking on a tour of the U.K.," O'Farrell said. "The production goes from strength to strength and it's lovely that more people will get to see it."

Chakrabarti said she felt keenly the weight of making the historical figures relatable. "William Shakespeare's reach is beyond compare and everyone without exception has some knowledge of his life, his works, his stories and his language," she said. "To try and humanize 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."

Her earlier stage adaptation of Yann Martel's "Life of Pi" won the Olivier Award for best new play, reached Broadway in March 2023 and picked up five Tony nominations. Her debut play, "Red Velvet," began at London's Tricycle Theatre before runs in New York and the West End.

Whyman, who has previously run Southwark Playhouse, the Gate Theatre in London and Northern Stage in Newcastle, called Chakrabarti's script deft, funny and highly accessible. "It is a love story with a remarkable woman and her family at its heart, but it is also a love letter to the theater, to Shakespeare and the miraculous capacity of the human imagination," she said.

She added: "I have spent my career advocating for U.K. 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."

What does the tour change for audiences?

It puts a record-breaking West End production within reach of theatergoers in at least 13 cities that never saw it — including a London stop at Wimbledon rather than the West End. Neal Street, a Banijay Entertainment company founded in 2003 by Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris and Caro Newling, is also backing the run; on stage it originated "The Lehman Trilogy" and "The Hills of California," and on film it is in production on Mendes' four-feature Beatles project for Sony Pictures. The 2027–28 schedule, with further dates still to come, suggests "Hamnet" is becoming a durable repertory piece rather than a one-off London hit.