HAMLET HAIL TO THE THIEF Cast and Band Set for London Premiere
The production will take up residence at the Barbican Theatre for a limited engagement.
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The full cast and band have been announced for Hamlet Hail to the Thief ahead of its London premiere at the Barbican Theatre from 31 October 2026 to 23 January 2027, following an acclaimed world premiere at Aviva Studios home of Factory International and the Royal Shakespeare Company last year.
As previously announced Samuel Blenkin (Alien: Earth, FX) will reprise his role as Hamlet, alongside Ami Tredrea (The Shitheads, Royal Court) as Ophelia, Paul Hilton (Mass, Donmar Warehouse) as Claudius/ Ghost, Claudia Harrison (The Line of Beauty, Almeida) as Gertrude, Alby Baldwin (The Unbelievers, Royal Court) as Horatio, Brandon Grace (Summerfolk, National Theatre) as Laertes, Felipe Pacheco (The Hunger Games, Troubadour Theatre) as Guildenstern, Romaya Weaver (A Midsummer Night's Dream, Globe Theatre) as Barnarda/ Player Queen / understudy Ophelia, and Marienella Phillips (Love's Labour's Lost, RSC) as understudy Rosencrantz, Barnarda/ Player Queen and Gravedigger.
Announced today and completing the cast will be 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 (making his 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 to the production 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.
In this fast-paced distillation of Hamlet, Shakespeare's words and Radiohead's songs illuminate one another in thrilling new ways that fuse theatre, music and movement. Personally reworked by Yorke, the deconstructed album is performed live onstage by a cast of musicians and actors.
Olivier award-winner Steven Hoggett recently collaborated with David Byrne as choreographer on Who is the Sky. His extensive choreography credits include Once, Nye, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime and Black Watch, and he was a founding member of Frantic Assembly. Tony and Olivier award-winner Christine Jones is Creator and Artistic Director of the acclaimed Theatre For One (most recently performed at the Barbican in March 2026), and Co-Creator along with Hoggett and David Byrne of Social Distance Dance Club, the post-pandemic immersive dance experience at the Park Avenue Armory. Steven and Christine's projects together as choreographer and designer respectively include Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, American Idiot and Let the Right One In.
Elsinore has a new ruler, and the air bites. Hamlet Hail to the Thief centres on Hamlet and Ophelia's awakening to the lies and corruption infecting their war-like state. In this witching hour, when ghosts reveal wild and hurling truths, hectic pulses through the blood of its citizens. When minds and hearts are overthrown, music speaks loudly.
Hail to the Thief (2003) is Radiohead's sixth studio album with singles including 'There There', '2+2=5' and 'Go to Sleep'. Recorded in the wake of the September 11 attacks and the subsequent 'War On Terror', the album underscores a period of paranoia, fear and anxiety, with dystopian themes incorporating Orwell inspired lyrics and theatrical, Brothers Grimm style fables. Inspired by Thom's preparation work for Hamlet Hail to the Thief, Radiohead released 'Hail To The Thief – Live Recordings' last September, revisiting archived tracks from across live shows from 2003 to 2009.
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