Hayman illustrated many of Shakespeare's plays; in 1743-4 he contributed thirty-one pictures to Sir Thomas Hanmer's edition of Shakespeare. Hayman's enthusiasm for the theater led him to take minor roles at Drury Lane and Covent Garden in the 1740s when, for example, he played the part of Poins in Henry IV several times in 1744. The stage productions Hayman saw had a marked influence on his paintings of scenes from Shakespeare (Christian 166).