Electrifying first-look images have dropped for Hamlet Hail to the Thief, the groundbreaking fusion of Shakespeare and Radiohead, starring Black Mirror’s Samuel Blenkin as the doomed Danish prince.
The snaps, shot by acclaimed photographer Manuel Harlan, show the cast and crew in full swing - singing and dancing to reworked tracks from Radiohead’s iconic 2003 album Hail to the Thief.
At the heart of the action? Thom Yorke himself, deep in collaboration with musicians Tom Knowles and Justin Levine at the keyboards—proof that the Radiohead frontman is hands-on in reshaping his band’s music for this radical theatrical experiment.
“This is an interesting and intimidating challenge,” Yorke shared on Instagram. “Adapting the original music of Hail to the Thief for live performance with the actors on stage to tell this story that is forever being told, using its familiarity and sounds, pulling them into and out of context…
“Seeing what chimes with the underlying grief and paranoia of Hamlet, using the music as a ‘presence’ in the room, watching how it collides with the action and the text. Ghosting one against the other.”
Directed by visionary duo Steven Hoggett (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) and Christine Jones (American Idiot), this isn’t your average Hamlet.
Instead, it’s a high-octane, music-driven spectacle where Yorke’s haunting tracks—including There There and 2+2=5—become the heartbeat of Elsinore’s paranoia.
The idea is that Shakespeare’s words and Radiohead’s album will illuminate one another as the music becomes a critical part of the narrative. Personally reworked by Yorke, the deconstructed album will be performed live onstage by a cast of 20 musicians and actors.
The set-up is: ‘Elsinore has a new ruler and hectic runs in the blood of its citizens. Hamlet Hail To The Thief centres on Hamlet and Ophelia’s awakening to the lies and corruption in Denmark, gradually revealed by ghosts and music.
Paranoia reigns and no one is spared a tragic unraveling.’ The production, co-produced by Factory International and the Royal Shakespeare Company with ATC Experience, Nate Koch, and Vivek J. Tiwary for TEG+.
It stars Samuel Blenkin as Hamlet and Ami Tredrea as Ophelia, alongside Paul Hilton (Claudius/Ghost), Claudia Harrison (Gertrude), and a live band featuring Ed Begley, Tom Brady, and others.
Set in a Denmark rife with paranoia and corruption, the adaptation zeroes in on Hamlet and Ophelia’s awakening to the deceit around them, with Radiohead’s music acting as both soundtrack and spectral force.
The album’s themes of dystopia and anxiety - Born from the post-9/11 era - resonate eerily with Shakespeare’s tale of political unrest and personal torment.
Full creative team:
Hamlet Hail to the Thief previews at Manchester’s Aviva Studios from 27 April, opening on 7 May, before transferring to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon from 4 June.
