Ireland's Dead Centre Brings HAMNET To BAM

Ireland's Dead Centre presents Hamnet as part of Artistic Director David Binder's first Next Wave season, in which every artist is making their BAM debut.

In 1596, an 11-year-old boy named Hamnet died in Stratford-upon-Avon. In 1602, a record showed that a tragedy called Hamlet had been performed in London. Their connection? William Shakespeare, the father of the boy and the author of the indisputable stage canon. Scholars have long debated the significance of the similarity of the names; and as with most efforts to connect Shakespeare's works and his skimpy biography, the answer remains elusive. No matter. The two founders of the Irish theater group Dead Centre have fashioned a play-out of precious few historical facts-which explores common themes from a child's point of view: coming-of-age, an absentee father, artistic sacrifices, mortality, and legacy.

At the center of this one-hour drama, the creators cast a real tween with no prior professional acting experience-Aran Murphy, who embodies Hamnet, Hamlet, and a contemporary latchkey child. He addresses the audience directly, transforms himself through makeup and costume, and interacts with an actor (company co-founder Bush Moukarzel) projected on pre-recorded video with equal parts bravura and vulnerability.

Dead Centre was founded in 2012 by Bush Moukarzel and Ben Kidd. Based between Dublin and London, Dead Centre has made four projects that have toured widely, including to the US, Russia, Australia, Hong Kong, Seoul, Germany, France, Holland, Sweden, and across the UK.