How much can a filmmaker change history before a true story stops being true? Hamnet, the acclaimed film inspired by Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, imagines the marriage of William Shakespeare and Agnes Hathaway, the death of their young son Hamnet, and the possible connection between that tragedy and the creation of Hamlet. But when so little is actually known about Shakespeare’s private life, where does history end and invention begin? And does it matter if the story we get is emotionally powerful, but historically questionable?

In this special Watch & Talk, Noah, a theatre actor and expert in drama and literature, will guide us through selected scenes from Hamnet and compare the world created by the film with what we really know, what historians can reasonably infer, and what has been invented. Along the way, we’ll explore bigger questions about historical fiction itself: Do filmmakers have a responsibility to the truth? Can an invented story reveal a deeper kind of truth? And when a brilliant film changes our image of real people, how easily can fiction become the history we remember? No knowledge of Shakespeare or Hamnet is needed — we’ll watch everything you need during the session.

在真实故事不再真实之前，电影人到底能改写多少历史？备受好评的电影《哈姆奈特》取材自 Maggie O’Farrell 的同名小说，它脑补了威廉·莎士比亚和 Agnes Hathaway 的婚姻、他们幼子 Hamnet 的夭折，以及这场悲剧与后来的《哈姆雷特》之间可能存在的联系。但在大家对莎士比亚的私人生活几乎一无所知的背景下，历史在哪里结束，虚构又从哪里开始？如果我们看到的故事在情感上极具感染力，但在历史层面上经不起考究，这到底要不要紧？

在这场特别的观影研讨会中，剧场演员兼戏剧与文学专家 Noah 将带大家重温《哈姆奈特》的经典片段，并将电影构建的世界与我们真正了解的历史事实、历史学家的合理推断以及纯粹的脑补虚构进行对比。在此过程中，我们还将探讨关于历史虚构作品本身更大的议题：电影人对历史真相负有责任吗？一个虚构的故事能揭示更深层次的真相吗？当一部精彩的电影改变了我们对真实历史人物的印象时，虚构的故事又有多容易变成我们记忆中的历史？不需要对莎士比亚或《哈姆奈特》有任何了解——现场会播放你需要了解的一切内容。