Hamlet Hail to the Thief London is finally happening: the Radiohead-soundtracked adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy will make its capital debut at the Barbican Theatre, running from 31 October through 23 January, after a run that sold out houses at the Royal Shakespeare Company and Aviva Studios.
From Manchester to the Barbican: How Hamlet Hail to the Thief Got Here
The production began its life in Manchester, where it made its world premiere last year before transferring to the Royal Shakespeare Company and Aviva Studios, home of London Theatre‘s coverage confirmed, Factory International. Both runs played to sold-out houses, according to Variety. Now, with that momentum behind it, the show arrives in London at one of the city’s most acoustically serious venues.
The production is directed and adapted by Christine Jones and Steven Hoggett, with Thom Yorke reworking and orchestrating songs from Radiohead’s 2003 album, Hail to the Thief, performed live by a cast of 20 musicians and actors. Originally produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company and Factory International, the Barbican run is presented by ATC Music Group and Vivek J., as listed on the Barbican‘s own booking page.
Yorke, for his part, sounds genuinely surprised the whole thing holds together. ‘I’m into finally bringing Hamlet Hail to the Thief to London, and to the Barbican of all places!’ he wrote in a press release. ‘It is fascinating and very strange to me how this came to life and how it has worked. When it revealed itself to us over time I was shocked, having never had this kind of experience before. I am happy for it to be seen by a wider audience in such an intense space.’
Samuel Blenkin Returns as Hamlet, Joined by an Expanded Ensemble
Samuel Blenkin reprises his role as Hamlet for the London run, with Ami Tredrea returning as Ophelia. The full company, according to What’s on Stage, additionally features Alby Baldwin as Horatio, Brandon Grace as Laertes, Felipe Pacheco as Guildenstern, and Romaya Weaver as Barnarda. That is a cast with genuine breadth, which makes sense for a production that puts live music at the centre of its theatrical language rather than treating it as ambient wallpaper.
The choice of the Barbican is doing real work here. It is a venue that carries its own particular gravity: concrete, monolithic, built for the long form. A Hamlet scored by one of the most politically anxious British records of the 2000s has found a home that suits its weight.
Why the Paranoia of Hail to the Thief Fits Hamlet Better Than You’d Expect
The critical reception from earlier runs suggests the concept earns its ambition. Pitchfork contributor Daniel Dylan Wray, reviewing the production, wrote that it ‘really doesn’t have any right to work, or make quite as much sense as it does. But it is an absorbing, heart-racing, and thrilling production that gracefully utilizes this music to co-exist within powerful dramatic depictions of grief, fear, madness, and death.’
That is a precise description of what Hail to the Thief already does on its own terms. The album was recorded in a particular climate of dread, in the early months of the Iraq War, and its unease sits close to the surface throughout. Grief, paranoia, the feeling that something in the state has gone rotten: those are Hamlet’s preoccupations too. The thematic overlap is not incidental, and from the evidence of sold-out runs at three previous venues, audiences have responded to it accordingly.
For a production that began as a world premiere in Manchester, reaching the Barbican for a near-three-month London run represents a substantial arc. Hamlet Hail to the Thief London opens on 31 October, and with both the RSC and Aviva Studios selling out, getting a ticket early looks like the sensible move.
