The Hatmaker's Wife

by Lauren Yee

In Lauren Yee's whimsical and poignant new play The Hatmaker's Wife, a young woman moves in with her boyfriend expecting domestic bliss, but instead has trouble getting comfortable. Her strange new home seems determined to help out - and soon the walls are talking. They reveal the magical tale of an old hat-maker and his long-suffering wife, who runs away with his favorite hat. This sweet and surreal story bends time and space to redefine the idea of family, home, and true love itself.

Genres: Plays, Theatre

84 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Eva St. Clair · Rating 4 out of 5]

WALL you are so Rocky from Project Hail Mary coded (also I love magical realism so much so I really enjoyed this!)

[Ruby Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whimsy! Inventive symbolism! Inanimate objects as characters! All my favorite components of a play, beautifully executed.

Tip: read with accents.

[Ina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was not expecting like this play at all. As I started reading it I fell in love with how whimsical and beautiful this story is written. This play is the perfect read for autumn and has such a beautiful message in regards to love. I don’t know why but this play reminded me of Amelie for some reason. I’ve always believed that certain stories find us when we need them most and this play definitely backs up this motto.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly pretty meh? With the exception of In A Word (which I loved), I feel like Lauren Yee's plays are often building towards a profound moment of realization...but then that moment is just sort of pat and glib and underwhelming. It happened with Hookman and it happened here too.

[Aaron Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's beautiful!
And I love the golem.
It feels as if it's in a Sarah Ruhl vein, and I know that's sort of rude to say, but The Hatmaker's Wife is about how to make sense of feelings in the way Ruhl's plays often are. In any case I quite liked this.

[Robert Barnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful little fairy tale!

[Beth Laine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly the Eastern European accents were the only part that made it bearable…

[Ayesha Bhatnagar · Rating 4.75 out of 5]

Loved it.