Radiohead & RSC’s Hamlet Hail To The Thief Is Coming To London

There is something of a Hamlet renaissance going on. In recent years, we have had Aneil Karia’s modern action thriller twist on the Bard’s most famous play, starring Riz Ahmed as a Hamlet living within London’s elite South Asian community.

We’ve also had one of the more unique adaptations of the play: the 2024 British documentary film Grand Theft Hamlet, directed by Sam Crane and Pinny Grylls and detailing the staging of a production of Hamlet within the video game Grand Theft Auto during one of the UK’s Covid lockdowns.

Tangentially, Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet opened in theatres at the top of 2026, while the original play is very rarely off the stage. In 2025, Olivier Award-winner Hiran Abeysekera took on the role of the tormented Danish prince at the National Theatre, while in spring 2026 Ralph Davis played Hamlet in an RSC production touring England.

Speaking of the RSC, there’s another intriguing Hamlet twist that debuted at the Stratford-upon-Avon theatre in 2025. Hamlet Hail to the Thief is a bold re-imagining of Shakespeare’s great tragedy, with our titular character haunted not just by ghosts but by Radiohead’s critically acclaimed album, Hail to the Thief (2003). The production was a sell-out success, described as a frenetic, feverish experience as Thom Yorke’s album is fractured into a score that brings new weight to Hamlet’s tragic unravelling.

After Stratford, it went on to Manchester, and now we’re told Hamlet Hail to the Thief is coming to London. Here’s when and where, plus how to get tickets.

Samuel Blenkin (Hamlet) in Hamlet Hail to the Thief (2025 production). Photo by Manuel Harlan

Hamlet Hail To The Thief London Run: All The Details

Hamlet Hail to the Thief will have its much-awaited London premiere on 31 October 2026, running until 23 January 2027 at the Barbican Theatre. The news continues the RSC’s partnership with the Barbican, with many of the Stratford theatre’s plays transferring to the beloved City theatre following a successful run.

The boldly musical twist on Shakespeare’s story comes courtesy of Thom Yorke, Christine Jones and Steven Hoggett. Yorke is best known as the front man and main songwriter for rock band Radiohead, while Jones is a production designer and Hoggett is a choreographer and movement director. The result of the collision is a mesmerising live experience that fuses theatre, music and movement.

‘I’m into finally bringing Hamlet Hail to The Thief to London, and to the Barbican of all places!’ Yorke said on the announcement. ‘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.’

‘Bringing this brutal play into the Barbican’s brutalist space seems fated,’ Jones added.

Paul Hilton as Claudius (centre) and the cast of Hamlet Hail to the Thief. Photo by Manuel Harlan.

The Plot

Most of us know the story of Hamlet, but if you don’t, here’s the gist: a Danish prince is grieving the death of his father, the king of Denmark, when his mother, Gertrude, shacks up with his uncle, Claudius. Horrified at his mother’s betrayal of her recently deceased husband, Hamlet is visited by a ghost who reveals his father didn’t die of natural causes but was slain by his brother, Claudius, so he could claim the throne. Thus begins the Danish prince’s downward spiral in which he feigns madness to mask his hunt for revenge.

In the RSC’s Radiohead version, Hamlet’s hometown of Elsinore has become a surveillance state, where paranoia reigns supreme. In the middle of it all are Hamlet and Ophelia, who awake to lies and corruption revealed by ghosts and music. Of course, that music is Radiohead’s album Hail to the Thief, which has been reworked by Yorke into a frenetic score for this production and is performed live by a talented cast of musicians and actors.

Recorded in the wake of the September 11 attacks and the subsequent ‘War On Terror’, the words of Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief take on a new resonance when filtered through Hamlet’s own paranoia, fear and anxiety.

Paul Hilton (Claudius) and Claudia Harrison (Gertrude) in Hamlet Hail to the Thief (2025 production). Photo Manuel Harlan

The Cast

After success in Stratford, Samuel Blenkin will reprise his role as Hamlet in the London run of Hamlet Hail to the Thief, alongside Ami Tredrea as Ophelia, Paul Hilton as Claudius/Ghost, Claudia Harrison as Gertrude, Alby Baldwin as Horatio, Brandon Grace as Laertes, Felipe Pacheco as Guildenstern, Romaya Weaver as Barnarda/Player Queen and Marienella Phillips as Offstage Swing.

Further casting for the roles not filled by returning actors will be announced in due course.

Hamlet Hail to the Thief (Original Cast 2025). Photo by Manuel Harlan.

How To Get Tickets

Tickets for the Barbican Theatre run of Hamlet Hail to the Thief will be on sale to the public from 10am on Friday 26 June 2026 at hamlethailtothethief.com

Standard tickets start from £34pp.

Running Time

Hamlet is a long play featuring over 4,000 lines (around 30,000 words) in its full length. A full production of the original text takes around four hours to perform, but many productions abridge Shakespeare’s play, and Hamlet Hail to the Thief is no different. Performed without an interval, Hamlet Hail to the Thief runs for approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes.