Hamnet (12A)

With phenomenal performances from Oscar nominees Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter) and Paul Mescal (Aftersun), Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao’s (Nomadland) Hamnet ­– based on Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed novel about William Shakespeare and his family – is a wildly sensitive, magnificently crafted story of love, grief and the restorative power of art.

1580 England. Impoverished Latin tutor William (Mescal) meets free spirit Agnes (Buckley), and they begin a passionate affair that leads to marriage and three children. As Will’s theatre career takes off in London, Agnes anchors the family’s domestic world alone. When tragedy strikes, the crucible of their shared suffering sets the stage for the creation of Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, Hamlet – the most famous of his tragedies, and one which bears a name interchangeable with that of his son.

“Pure exhilaration” ★★★★★ The Telegraph

“Jessie Buckley is extraordinary in Chloé Zhao’s tender act of Shakespearean catharsis” ★★★★★ Time Out