Hamnet

Hamnet

Brooklyn Academy of Music

Next Wave 2019

November 2, 2019

Photo courtesy of Dead Centre
& BAM Next Wave 2019

The Brooklyn Academy of Music Next Wave Festival is presenting the Dead Centre production of Hamnet.  Written and directed by Ben Kidd and Bush Moukarzel, this unique and original work illuminates what little is known about William Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, who died at age eleven.  Shakespeare’s grief over this loss is reflected in much of his work, and his most well-known tragic character, Hamlet, is named for him.  This piece beautifully looks at the abandonment and haunting that results from losing a child at a young age.

We meet Hamnet (played by Aran Murphy), an eleven-year-old boy, looking for his father in the crowd.  He recites the well-known “To be or not to be” soliloquy, yet does not fully understand its meaning.  He throws a ball against the wall, hoping it will one day pass through, as quantum physics predicts if can over infinity.  He invites an audience member to come on stage and play the ghost of King Hamlet as he appears to the Prince.  The scene does not go as well as he hopes, then the ghost of his true father, William Shakespeare, appears to him.  Together they face their grief in order to pass through the wall that separates them.

Photo courtesy fo Dead Centre & BAM Next Wave 2019

Aran Murphy is genuine and delivers a provocative performance.  The writing is layered with metaphor that transcends centuries as it answers the main dramatic questions: Is a parent’s grief caused by the haunting of their deceased child, or is the deceased child trapped into haunting because of the parent’s grief?  The action of the play suggests a mutuality.  The grief propels both characters into a state of inaction, much like the fictional character, Hamlet.

The video design by José Miguel Jiménez is brilliant, creating engaging effects that heighten the main theme of this play.  Hamnet ends it’s run at BAM Fisher on November 3.  It is a thought provoking and intelligently developed piece of theatre.

Domenick Danza