Review: HAMLET HAIL TO THE THIEF, Royal Shakespeare Theatre

It was only February when we headed to Stratford-upon-Avon to review Hamlet, so it comes as quite the surprise to head through green fields speckled with sheep for the same play a mere four months later. Elsinore might have been a massive moving ship back then, but it’s receiving an astonishing overhaul this time. Now a surveillance state, Radiohead is the soundtrack to a raucous adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragic masterpiece.

Co-created by Thom Yorke and directed by Steven Hoggett and Christine Jones, the band’s album Hail To The Thief acts as the backdrop for the fragmentation of music and self. This is a true reinvention of Shakespeare, who knew that theatre could be so unreasonably cool?!

Jones and Hoggett approach the two source materials with equal care and respect, creating a production that lives in a liminal space, at the intersection of straight drama, live music, and contemporary dance. The text is distilled (distilled, not stripped) down to its beautiful bones, with the final result clutching the emotional register of Hamlet, the very essence and raison d’être of the tragedy. If the word “radical” has ever been used to describe a commercial version of Hamlet, it was probably used in the wrong context. This is what radical looks like in commercial theatre. 

A threatening, thumping paranoia flows in the veins of a truly unique show. Stark visuals toy with a utilitarian look and the haunting anonymity of a recording studio of some kind. At the back of a two-layered set – which is often awash with effective projections that turn smoke into rain and back again when they’re not being taken over by the undefined apparition of Hamlet Senior, thunderous and fearsome as any ghost would be – are sound booths where the musicians play live. 

Amps often populate the stage like tiny platforms, with actors climbing over them for emphasis or for the sake of precise symbolism. Plot points are streamlined and transformed into interpretative dance sequences to advance the story, which manages to whittle down the four-hour traffic into a sleek, accessible one-hour-forty affair. Surprisingly, it works perfectly.

The dramaturgy is as natural as it can be. Edited and amended, the original script is kept authentic with the addition of a few modern swear words; all the cuts are sensible and never, in any way, happen at the expense of the source material. It turns out iambic verse agrees with Radiohead’s own sound very well. A visceral rockstar vibe washes over the disturbed glam of the scenography (by AMP with Sandra Tehrani), which echoes in the long dark coats and black wardrobe of the cast. If the imagery is quite removed from everyday reality, the characters are anything but, starting with an incredibly contemporary take of Ophelia.

Forget the ditzy flower girl you’ve seen over and over again. Ami Tredrea introduces a relatable, strong-willed woman who’s on par with each of her male counterparts. She spars with her brother, talks back to her father, and shares a tender moment with Hamlet. She also delivers the most heartbreaking soliloquy of the piece after a brief, gorgeous rendition of ‘Sail To The Moon’ intertwines with her part. Samuel Blenkin, on the other end, is a lovely Hamlet. Young, petulant, and on the brink of collapse, he breaks his lines, overcome with emotion. 

Once he and Tredrea give us a glimpse of what could have been, it’s harder to consider the personal consequences of power and greed. This Hamlet is a human, personal tragedy. Gertrude and Claudius (Claudia Harrison and Paul Hilton) are both unusually nice – Claudius especially. Hilton holds back the viciousness normally associated with the villain as much as he can at the start, approaching Hamlet with veiled kindness instead. He turns, obviously, into a controlling, terrible despot who manipulates the entire system, but this is, regardless, a fresh take.

A few characters suffer the focus on others, so both Harrison’s Gertrude and Tom Peters’s Polonius are slightly sidelined. Brandon Grace gives a determined Laertes and we, for once, see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (James Cooney and Felipe Pacheco) die. Stealing the scene, Alby Baldwin is a stunning Horatio. Loving and supportive, they are a true friend to Hamlet, warning him and showing real worry when his demeanour starts to change. They also conclude with the most haunting, reflective, and thoroughly wonderfully paced ending to the epic.

Symbolism permeates every angle of the production. Dance becomes subjugation to the state and its beckoning, febrile rhythm is what links Claudius’s strings. Though not overtly political, the gravitational pull of the themes cannot ultimately be severed from governmental criticism. The simple point where Jones and Hoggett decide to end it is indicative of their interpretation and the key they want their audience to use. It’s an exceptional project. Intense, fast-paced, genuinely entertaining, thought-provoking… We can go on. Take yourself to Stratford-upon-Avon and see for yourself.

Hamlet Hail To The Thief runs at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon until 28 June.

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