Hamlet Hail to the Thief
- Linda Isted
- May 8
- 3 min read
William Shakespeare, adapted by Christine Jones and Steven Hoggett; music by Radiohead; arrangements Thom Yorke
A Factory International, Royal Shakespeare Company, ATC Experience, Nate Koch
and Vivek J Tiwary for TEG+ co-production
Aviva Studios, Manchester
April 27-May 18, 2025; 1 hr 50 mins, no interval
(also Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford on Avon, June 4-28)
The Radiohead album Hail to the Thief appeared in 2003, a year which, for those who care to remember such things, was in thrall to TV talent shows, Simon Cowell and the likes of Busted, Girls Aloud and The Cheeky Girls.
Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, meanwhile, was focused on the war on terror, on alienation, corruption and on how individuals find both themselves and a place in an incomprehensible world.
At about the same time, Christine Jones was bravely working on a project to reduce Hamlet’s (whisper it soft, sometimes numbing) length to a controversially manageable two hours.
And now, with a 20-year wave of Shakespeare’s magic wand, we have an extraordinary, multi-layered, angst-ridden performance that demands attention like a toddler in a tantrum.
In fact many a tantrum is thrown during the course of the evening. The dancers, here to convey the inner turmoil of the characters, are adept at them with their fierce, sinuous invasions of the stage. And in the final, frenetic scene, pretty much everyone is at it, before they all fall to the floor, desperate for a bit of a lie-down before the curtain calls.
Samuel Blenkin, as Hamlet, is self-pity personified throughout. It’s the droop of the shoulders, the floppy hair, the ease with which he drops his head into his hands. Ironically he looks very modern, and you can easily imagine him on a daytime TV sofa, baring his soul while keeping a weather eye on the camera.
But it is Ophelia who really sets this production apart. Played by Ami Tredrea, she is the fulcrum, with all the male characters effectively defined by their relationship with her. You are left in no doubt that, amid the garlands and water-logged clothing, she was determined to drag them down with her.
Perhaps as a result of this interpretation of Ophelia, Claudia Harrison’s Gertrude feels a little under-powered, while Paul Hilton's scheming Claudius scurries twitchily from plot to plot. But in this shortened version of the play, all parts are curtailed and slightly diminished, and that must be forgiven in the light of the overall success of the piece.
Meanwhile the music, with soloists cleverly incorporated into the set, has stage direction all of its own. It creeps in, or swirls around, or comes crashing over the entire proceeds with wild waves of empathetic energy. Hail to Radiohead…
The industrial setting of Aviva Studios is perfect for the show’s looming, grey and gloomy set, designed by AMP featuring Sadra Tehrani. The audience’s uneasy climb up open metallic stairs, the unpadded seating, that first rush of vertigo as you peer down towards the stage – it all seems designed to unsettle and set your teeth ever so slightly on edge.
Do not be a purist about this – Hamlet Hail to the Thief is what Shakespeare, and Aviva Studios, is all about. Just make sure you wear sensible shoes for those metal stairs.
More info and tickets here
