London debut for Hamlet Hail to the Thief

Following sold-out runs at the Royal Shakespeare Company and Aviva Studios (home of Factory International), Hamlet Hail to the Thief will receive its London premiere at the Barbican Theatre later this year.

Featuring the words of William Shakespeare and the music of Radiohead’s 2003 album ‘Hail to the Thief’, 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.

Looking forward to the show’s London debut, Yorke said: “I’m into finally bringing Hamlet Hail to the Thief to London, and to the Barbican of all places! 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.”

Jones said: “Bringing this brutal play into the Barbican’s brutalist space seems fated. I feel fiercely fortunate to regroup with these incisive collaborators and push our work further. Both the play and the album continue to speak urgently to the convulsed world we find ourselves in. For me, working on this project is one way to find the ground beneath me.”

Hoggett added: “The chance to put all the learnings into the next stages of a show is a great privilege. What were guesstimates and hopes become areas we can now push into, knowing we can create more precision. The fact that this is the process that will find its home on stage at the Barbican is truly thrilling. The show will become richer in its elision of music, movement and text which makes this space a perfect home.

“I myself have sat in the auditorium on many, many occasions and had the boundaries blown apart as to what theatre might be. We’re following some giants but also many of my personal inspirations. In this way we hope to continue this dazzling tradition – a commitment to theatre that looks to meet the expectations of a multi-generational audience with an intention to be as radical as we are reverential.”

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. Further casting will be announced at a later date.

Angela Thomas