The Royal Shakespeare Company and Factory International’s joint production of Hamlet: Hail to the Thief creates a compelling unity between traditional script, music, and movement.
Co-created by Christine Jones, Steven Hoggett, and Thom Yorke, this dynamic, visceral, synthesised operatic interpretation of the Shakespearean classic brings new energy to familiar themes. By amalgamating Hamlet with Radiohead’s 2003 album Hail to the Thief, the production offers a unique perspective on paranoiac power struggles.
Thom Yorke has confirmed that the connection between Shakespeare’s tragedy and Hail to the Thief was originally accidental, but the similar themes of power abuse, as noted by co-creator Christine Jones, inspired the fusion of these two art forms. The title of Radiohead’s sixth studio album was a reference to George W. Bush’s controversial election win, drawn from headlines during anti-Bush protests. Similarly, Hamlet centres on Claudius unjustly stealing the throne by murdering his brother, the King, and driving his nephew Hamlet into spiralling madness. Jones, Hoggett, and Yorke delve deeper into these themes of power and instability to build a fresh, instinctive retelling of the Bard’s work.
One striking example of the production’s thematic synergy is the exploration of sirens and mermaids. “There’s always a siren singing you to shipwreck,” from Radiohead’s “There, There,” evokes a metaphorical force luring one toward destruction. This echoes Ophelia’s tragic death, described in the play as “mermaid-like, awhile they bore her up,” and also speaks to broader themes of manipulation and seduction by unseen political forces, central to Hamlet. While water imagery in the play is most directly linked to Ophelia, it reverberates throughout the production, reflected in the flowing choreography and the eerie, submerged quality of the music-evocative at times of whale song.
At one point, Hamlet is seen reading Albert Camus’s The Plague. This is a clever addition, underscoring the shared message of both Hamlet and Hail to the Thief. Camus’s novel, set in a North African town afflicted by epidemic, serves as an allegory for the rise of fascism and human suffering under authoritarian rule. It adds a thoughtful layer to this adaptation, reinforcing the sense of powerlessness and systemic decay found in both the play and the album. The production never specifies its time or setting, Jones notes, “We’re not trying to overtly comment on the world right now.” Even so, by combining a politically charged album with Shakespeare’s timeless story of dynastic betrayal, the result is a work that resonates across any socio-political context. As Yorke himself put it, “I think it’s a death knell for any piece of work to be described as ‘political’ and then be concerned forevermore with having to contextualise that.”
Samuel Blenkin’s Hamlet is captivating; constantly teetering on the edge of sanity, and deeply attuned to the hypnotic heartbeat of Yorke’s score. His performance of “Scatterbrain” was, for me, the highlight of the production: spectral, fragile, and emotionally charged. Paul Hilton’s Claudius is equally powerful, a quietly sinister presence with a controlled, almost inhuman physicality that makes him a disturbingly effective villain.
The production’s use of movement is particularly striking. Between scenes, the text is pared back, allowing the music and choreography to take over. As someone who leans toward traditional Shakespearean delivery, I found these transitions surprisingly effective. The cast’s movements, fluid, expressive, and almost dreamlike, communicate the characters’ mental states with an immediacy that complements rather than replaces the original text. The music acts as a new kind of verse, threading through the play as both score and emotional subtext. It feels like a natural extension of Shakespeare’s poetry.
Set design is intentionally minimal, allowing the focus to remain on the actors and music. Musicians are placed in glass boxes around the stage, both visible and slightly removed. This choice not only highlights their contribution, but subtly reinforces their role as a kind of Greek chorus or ethereal narrator. At times, the singers are elevated above the action, singing down in haunting tones, as if presiding over Hamlet’s unraveling.
Jessica Hung Han Yun’s lighting and Will Duke’s projections create haunting visual effects. One glass enclosure reflects the stage in such a way that Claudius appears doubled, emphasising his duplicity. It’s a quiet but powerful moment, mirroring his fractured identity and hidden guilt.
The scenography, designed by AMP and Sadra Tehrani, draws on evocative visual references, from Egon Schiele’s angular portraits to Joseph Beuys’s performance art I Like America and America Likes Me, and most prominently, Robert Longo’s 1980s Men in the Cities series. These charcoal images, of sharply dressed figures caught mid-motion, directly influence the cast’s costumes and movement. The contrast between stiff tailoring and flowing gestures heightens the production’s sense of internal tension. The result is a stage that often feels like a living sculpture: frozen moments of drama captured in physical form.
Hamlet: Hail to the Thief is a bold, imaginative production that fuses Shakespeare and Radiohead with intelligence and artistry. It captures the unease of both works and presents them in a haunting, transcendent new light. A tale of power, madness, and fragility that lingers long after the final scene.
