The full cast and band for the London premiere of Hamlet Hail to the Thief have been confirmed ahead of the hit musical’s debut at the Barbican Theatre later this year.
Following sold-out runs at the Royal Shakespeare Company and Aviva Studios (home of Factory International), the innovative version of the Bard’s powerful tragedy co-created by Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and directors Steven Hoggett and Christine Jones will run from 31 October 2026 to 23 January 2027.
As previously announced, Samuel Blenkin (Alien: Earth, FX; Mickey 17, Warner Bros, Black Mirror, Netflix) will reprise his performance as Hamlet, alongside Ami Tredrea (The Shitheads, Royal Court, Wendy and Peter Pan, RSC/Barbican) as Ophelia. Paul Hilton (Mass, Donmar Warehouse, An Enemy of the People, West End) will return as Claudius/Ghost, opposite Claudia Harrison (The Line of Beauty, Almeida Theatre, The Crown, Netflix) as Gertrude.
The returning cast also includes Alby Baldwin (The Unbelievers, Royal Court, Tender, Bush Theatre) as Horatio, Brandon Grace (Summerfolk/London Tide, National Theatre) as Laertes, Felipe Pacheco (The Hunger Games, Troubadour Theatre, Metamorphosis, Frantic Assembly) as Guildenstern, Romaya Weaver (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Globe Theatre, The Cabinet Minister, Menier Chocolate Factory) as Barnarda/Player Queen and Marienella Phillips (Love’s Labour’s Lost, RSC, A Christmas Carol, The Lowry) as offstage swing.
The cast will be completed by Nicolas Tennant (Mother Courage and Her Children, Globe Theatre) as Polonius, Merryl Ansah (The Lion King, Lyceum Theatre) as Gravedigger/understudy Gertrude, Miles Barrow (Game of Thrones, RSC) as Rosencrantz/understudy Hamlet, Halim Diwani (professional stage debut) as understudy Laertes, Horatio and Guildenstern and Gavin James (Rosie, Adelphi Theatre) as understudy Claudius and Polonius.
The full original band will return including Ed Begley (vocals), Tom Brady (music supervisor, music director and keys 2), Jenny Clifford (guitars), Joe Downard (bass guitar), Shane Forbes (drums), Meg Hill (vocals), Tom Knowles (associate music supervisor and keys 1) and Adam Martin (guitars). They will be joined by two additional cover singers Emilio Moreno Arias and Josephina Ortiz Lewis.
Featuring the words of William Shakespeare and the music of Radiohead’s 2003 album Hail to the Thief, the production has scenography by AMP featuring Sadra Tehrani, arrangements by Justin Levine, music supervision by Tom Brady, choreography by Jess Williams, sound design by Gareth Fry, projection design by Will Duke, lighting design by Jessica Hung Han Yun and costume design by Lisa Duncan. The casting director is Charlotte Sutton for the RSC, the dramaturg and textual consultant is Ayanna Thompson, the sound manipulator is Jack Moulton and the general manager is New Road Theatricals
Angela Thomas
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