Cold Open · Essay · jan 22, 2026

Hamnet and Movies That Are Secret Shakespeare Plays

Chloé Zhao's Hamnet — a film about Shakespeare and grief — becomes the occasion for a wider excavation: the movies that are, secretly or openly, adaptations of Shakespeare's plays. From 10 Things I Hate About You to Ran, from She's Gotta Have It to The Lion King, Laura Gommans and Hugo Emmerzael trace the persistent hold of the plays on cinema's imagination. The episode also finds space for Richard Linklater's Blue Moon — and the discovery that Ethan Hawke is magnetic in just about anything he chooses to be in.

By Laura Gommans

Film Journalist · Celebrating Cinema

Hosts Laura Gommans and Hugo Emmerzael explore Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet (yes, a movie about Shakespeare and his family), alongside a range of movies that are, in one way or another, really just adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays.

Laura and Hugo also discuss Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon, a film that may have slipped under the radar this awards season, though Ethan Hawke’s magnetic performance is not to be missed, as well as the endearing documentary Tale of Sylian.

Get tickets to ⁠Hamnet⁠ @ LAB111

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