Cast set for new Hamlet and Radiohead show at Aviva Studios and Royal Shakespeare Theatre

The full cast and creative team have been announced for Hamlet Hail to the Thief, a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet set to premiere at Aviva Studios, Manchester, before transferring to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The production, directed by Steven Hoggett and Christine Jones, will integrate the music of Radiohead, with orchestrations by Thom Yorke. Shakespeare’s text will be performed alongside reworked versions of songs from Hail to the Thief, the band’s 2003 album.

Listen to the show being discussed in an exclusive RSC season preview:

Samuel Blenkin will play Hamlet, with Ami Tredrea as Ophelia, Paul Hilton as Claudius and the Ghost, and Claudia Harrison as Gertrude. The cast also includes Annabel Baldwin as Horatio, Brandon Grace as Laertes, James Cooney as Rosencrantz, Felipe Pacheco as Guildenstern, Tom Peters as Polonius, and Romaya Weaver as the Gravedigger. Daniel Davids, Kieran Garland, and Marienella Phillips will serve as off-stage swings.

The band will feature Ed Begley, Tom Brady, Joe Downard, Shane Forbes, Megan Hill, Tom Knowles, and Adam Martin.

Jess Williams has been announced as choreographer, with creative aspects including scenography by AMP featuring Sadra Tehrani, arrangements by Justin Levine, music supervision by Tom Brady, sound design by Gareth Fry, projection design by Will Duke, lighting design by Jessica Hung Han Yun, and costume design by Lisa Duncan. Casting is by Charlotte Sutton for the RSC, with text consultancy and dramaturgy by Ayanna Thompson.

Hamlet Hail to the Thief will run at Aviva Studios from 27 April to 18 May 2025 before transferring to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from 4 June to 28 June 2025.