The Royal Shakespeare Company and Neal Street’s acclaimed stage production of Hamnet, previously seen in the West End, will embark on its first UK tour in september 2027.

Based on Maggie O’Farrell’s best-selling novel, now also an Oscar-winning film, Hamnet has been adapted for the stage by award-winning playwright Lolita Chakrabarti (Life of Pi, Red Velvet, Hymn). This powerful story is a love letter to passion, birth, grief and the magic of nature. The production will open at Lowry in Salford on 25 September 2027. The touring production will then visit Newcastle, Truro, Norwich, Nottingham, Canterbury, Birmingham, Glasgow and Bath before a break for Christmas. The tour will recommence in January 2028, followed by stops in Belfast, York, Wimbledon and Southampton, with further dates to be announced. A full touring schedule is below.

Directed by former RSC Deputy and Acting Artistic Director Erica Whyman and featuring set design by Tom Piper, Hamnet premiered at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, breaking box office records before transferring to the West End and opening in 2023 to the biggest advance at the time recorded in the Garrick Theatre’s history. Now audiences across the UK can experience this critically acclaimed play which pulls back the curtain on the story of the greatest writer in the English language and the woman who was the constant presence and purpose of his life.

Warwickshire, 1582. Agnes Hathaway, a natural healer, meets the Latin tutor, William Shakespeare. Drawn together by powerful but hidden impulses, they create a life together and make a family.

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.

Full casting and creative team details will be announced soon.

UK TOUR SCHEDULE 27-28

Lowry, Salford 

25 September – 2 October 2027

Theatre Royal Newcastle 

5 – 9 October 2027

Hall for Cornwall, Truro

12 – 16 October 2027

Norwich Theatre Royal                                                                                     

19 – 23 October 2027

Theatre Royal Nottingham                                                                                

26 – 30 October 2027

Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury

2 – 6 November 2027

The Alexandra, Birmingham

9 – 13 November 2027

Theatre Royal Glasgow

16 – 20 November 2027

Theatre Royal Bath

23 – 27 November 2027

Grand Opera House, Belfast

18 – 22 January 2028

Grand Opera House, York

1 – 5 February 2028

New Wimbledon Theatre, London                                                                                    

7 – 11 March 2028

Mayflower Theatre, Southampton

21 – 25 March 2028                                                                                      

Further dates and locations to be announced