Hamlet Hail to the Thief

Following sell-out runs with Factory International and the Royal Shakespeare Company last year, Hamlet Hail to the Thief now transfers to London’s Barbican Theatre for a strictly limited season from 31 October 2026. Shakespeare’s great tragedy and Radiohead’s critically acclaimed album collide for a mesmerising live experience that fuses theatre, music and movement. Hamlet Hail to the Thief is co-created by Thom Yorke and celebrated directors Steven Hoggett and Christine Jones.

Yorke has reworked the band’s sixth album into a deconstructed score that illuminates the text and is performed live onstage by a cast of musicians and actors (casting to be announced). Elsinore has a new ruler, and the air bites. Hamlet Hail to the Thief centres on Hamlet and Ophelia’s awakening to the lies and corruption infecting their war-like state.

In this witching hour, when ghosts reveal wild and hurling truths, hectic pulses through the blood of its citizens. When minds and hearts are overthrown, music speaks loudly. Brimming with energy, Hamlet Hail to the Thief distils Shakespeare’s masterpiece to its dark and glittering emotional core.