Audience Raves

"Hamnet is a must see. There were a lot of metaphors, and they got me right here [tapping his heart]" - @playhouseEd

"Absolutely loved it...Renewed my love for live theatre." - Yana, from the blog

"It was otherworldly and so beautiful!"

"It was amazing, I want to see it again."

"What a great performance, loved the video effects."

“ABSOLUTELY stunning & gorgeous.” – @TankWitch

“Haunting, funny, and complex. Brilliantly performed and staged.” – @BrianJPick

"I came because I thought it was a clever idea to use Shakespeare’s son to tell a different story about him. I left with far more than that story — with so much to think about. What a great performance, loved the video effects. And, one hour — yay!"

Critical Praise

"I still find it hard to believe that an eleven year old did that all practically on his own. Not many could have pulled off doing an hour-long show with hardly any set, a limited amount of props and practically no time off stage. But Aran Murphy did it..."
- Broadway World

“A captivating turn from 14-year-old Ollie West. Watching him, one has the sense of seeing a very starry actor in the making.”
- Jared Bowen, WGBH Arts Editor

"Brilliantly written, and a extraordinarily creative staging from Dead Centre, Hamnet is one of the most riveting works to come out of Ireland in recent years."
- Brian O'Donovan, Host WGBH's A Celtic Sojourn

“Extraordinary production of grief, fatherhood, and the shadow of those we love and miss.”
- Theater Mirror

"Hamnet has been earning raves around the world and Boston audiences should not miss this opportunity to see it."
- EDGE Media Network

"The play is a one man show or rather a one boy show...Ollie West threw all my assumptions about a one person show out the window...[He] was excellent as Hamnet."
- City Living Boston

"Hamnet is the epitome of pre-teen candor and angst: an honest portrait of a hurt yet devoted son."
- Harvard Crimson

"Full of a passionate intensity"
- MIT The Tech

"A fascinating, one-of-a-kind play that strikes at a universal sense of longing."
- The Arts Fuse

Local Previews

"Shakespeare’s son, forgotten, alone, and unknown — until now."
- The Boston Globe

"In 'Hamnet' ArtsEmerson Explores The Life And Death Of Shakespeare's Only Son"
- WBUR, The Artery

"A sit-down interview with the star and co-creator of a new Irish play about William Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet."
- Open Studio with Jared Bowen, WGBH

"Hamnet, Shakespeare’s Lost Boy, at ArtsEmerson."
- Boston Irish Reporter

"5 Questions: Bush Moukarzel, author of Hamnet"
- Lynnhappens.com

International Press

"To see or not to see: ‘Hamnet’ is this week’s must-see theatre highlight."
- The Irish Times, Dublin

"Hamnet: a play for Shakespeare's forgotten son (and one 11-year-old actor)."
- The Guardian, UK

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "It was, quite frankly, riveting viewing...the absent father is a narrative that many of us have experienced, or seen. It is not hard to empathize. It is masterful."
- Nothing Ever Happens In Brisbane Blog