Where Was Hamnet Filmed?

"This is one problem that faced the crew filming Hamnet-a fictional account of William Shakespeare's family life in Stratford-Upon-Avon and his professional one at The Globe theatre in London, based on Maggie O'Farrell's award-winning novel. Unlike recent biopics of arts titans such as Bruce Springsteen, Maria Callas, or Bob Dylan, whose homes are not museums, the production team had to retell Shakespeare's story in such historically significant locations as The Globe and the cottage of Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare's wife."

"Take it from a Briton: you cannot shut down the still-very-lucrative present-day Globe for a movie shoot. Never. Gonna. Happen. Not even with Paul Mescal on board as the bard. And yet, as Hamnet's production designer Fiona Crombie tells Condé Nast Traveler, finding substitute locations wasn't as tricky as you might think. A costume and production designer for many British historical pieces-Crombie was Oscar-nominated for her work in The Favourite-she has lived in the UK for more than a decade and was unfazed by the challenge."

"We join the story from Anne Hathaway's perspective. Also known as "Agnes" she was to become Shakespeare's wife and mother to his three children: eldest Susanna, and twins Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet died age 11 of the bubonic plague, and O'Farrell's book explores the theory that Shakespeare's most famous play Hamlet was shaped by his son's death. O'Farrell also casts Agnes as a herbal healer who grew up on a farm with deep emotional ties to nature and the forest."

Hamnet stars Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare and reconstructs both his family life in Stratford-Upon-Avon and his professional life at The Globe in London. The production could not close the modern Globe, so the team used substitute locations to depict historically significant sites such as The Globe and Anne Hathaway's cottage. Fiona Crombie, an Oscar-nominated costume and production designer, led the location and design adaptations and drew on experience from British historical projects. The narrative centers on Anne Hathaway (Agnes) and portrays her as a herbal healer; it follows the family, including twins Judith and Hamnet, and Hamnet's death at age 11 from the plague.

Read at Conde Nast Traveler