Complete company for Hamlet Hail to the Thief at the Barbican announced

Full casting has been announced for the London premiere of Hamlet Hail to the Thief at the Barbican Theatre.

The production, which combines William Shakespeare’s Hamlet with music from Radiohead’s 2003 album Hail to the Thief, will run from 31 October 2026 to 23 January 2027. It was previously nominated for three WhatsOnStage Awards.

Samuel Blenkin will reprise the role of Hamlet, having appeared in the production’s original runs with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Factory International. He will be joined by Ami Tredrea as Ophelia.

Returning cast members also include Paul Hilton as Claudius/Ghost and Claudia Harrison as Gertrude.

The company additionally features Alby Baldwin as Horatio, Brandon Grace as Laertes, Felipe Pacheco as Guildenstern, Romaya Weaver as Barnarda/Player Queen and Marienella Phillips as offstage swing.

Announced today and completing the cast will be Nicolas Tennant (Mother Courage and Her Children) as Polonius, Merryl Ansah (The Lion King) as Gravedigger/ understudy Gertrude, Miles Barrow as Rosencrantz/ understudy Hamlet, Halim Diwani (making his professional stage debut) as understudy Laertes, Horatio, and Guildenstern and Gavin James (Rosie) as understudy Claudius and Polonius.

The production combines Shakespeare’s Hamlet with music from Radiohead’s album Hail to the Thief. It is co-created by Thom Yorke, Christine Jones and Steven Hoggett, with Yorke reworking material from the album for live performance.

The full original band will return to the production including Ed Begley (vocals), Tom Brady (music supervisor, music director and Keys 2), Jenny Clifford (Guitars), Joe Downard (Bass Guitar), Shane Forbes (Drums), Meg Hill (Vocals), Tom Knowles (associate music supervisor and Keys 1) and Adam Martin (Guitars). They will be joined by two additional cover singers Emilio Moreno Arias and Josephina Ortiz Lewis.

The creative team includes Yorke as orchestrator, AMP featuring Sadra Tehrani as scenographer, Justin Levine as arranger, Jess Williams as choreographer, Gareth Fry as sound designer, Will Duke as projection designer, Jessica Hung Han Yun as lighting designer and Lisa Duncan as costume designer. Casting is by Charlotte Sutton for the RSC, with Ayanna Thompson serving as dramaturg and textual consultant and Jack Moulton as sound manipulator.

The production premiered in Manchester before transferring to Stratford-upon-Avon and will now make its London debut at the Barbican Theatre.