Radiohead's Thom Yorke pictured in rehearsals for Manchester world premiere production

Radiohead's album Hail to the Thief will soundtrack a dynamic new version of Hamlet, with the world premiere here in Manchester

Dianne Bourne Lifestyle Editor

12:58, 03 Apr 2025Updated 17:27, 03 Apr 2025

Thom Yorke, Tom Knowles and Justin Levine in rehearsals for Hamlet Hail to the Thief which gets its world premiere in Manchester from April 27(Image: Manuel Harlan)

Radiohead's Thom Yorke has been pictured in rehearsals for the upcoming Manchester world premiere production of Shakespeare's Hamlet featuring the band's 2003 album Hail to the Thief.

The ambitious new production is described as a "feverish new live experience, fusing theatre, music and movement".

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Hamlet Hail to the Thief will debut at Aviva Studios, home of Factory International, in Manchester later this month.

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It will have a three week run here in the city from April 27, before transferring to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in June.

Radiohead frontman Thom has teamed up with celebrated directors, Steven Hoggett and Christine Jones, for what is being billed as a "frenetic adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet haunted by Radiohead’s celebrated 2003 album Hail to the Thief".

In a fast-paced distillation of the play, Shakespeare’s words and Radiohead’s album illuminate one another in "thrilling new ways as the music becomes a critical part of the narrative".

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Personally reworked by Yorke, the deconstructed album will be performed live onstage by a cast of 20 musicians and actors.

Rehearsal pictures have today been released showing cast and creatives working behind the scenes on the show.

Rehearsals on Hamlet Hail to the Thief(Image: Manuel Harlan)

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For those unfamiliar with the Shakespeare play, it is based in the Danish city of Elsinore where a new ruler sees "hectic run in the blood of its citizens".

Hamlet Hail To The Thief centres on Hamlet and Ophelia’s awakening to the lies and corruption in Denmark, gradually revealed by ghosts and music. Paranoia reigns and no one is spared a tragic unravelling.

Hail to the Thief (2003) is Radiohead’s sixth studio album with singles including ‘There There’, ‘2+2=5’ and ‘Go to Sleep’. Recorded in the wake of the September 11 attacks and the subsequent War On Terror, the album underscores a period of paranoia, fear and anxiety, using a striking mix of rock, unsettling sound experiments and lullaby piano ballad, with dystopian themes incorporating George Orwell-inspired lyrics and theatrical, Brothers Grimm style fables.

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Samuel Blenkin will play Hamlet, alongside Ami Tredrea as Ophelia(Image: Manuel Harlan)

As previously announced, Samuel Blenkin will play Hamlet, alongside Ami Tredrea as Ophelia, Paul Hilton as Claudius/ Ghost, Claudia Harrison as Gertrude, Alby Baldwin as Horatio, Brandon Grace as Laertes, James Cooney as Rosencrantz, Felipe Pacheco as Guildenstern, Tom Peters as Polonius and Romaya Weaver as Gravedigger.

The cast is completed by Daniel Davids, Kieran Garland and Marienella Phillips who are all Off-Stage Swings. The band will include Ed Begley, Tom Brady, Joe Downard, Shane Forbes, Megan Hill, Tom Knowles and Adam Martin.

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Previews for Hamlet Hail to the Thief begin on 27 April 2025, with opening night on 7 May at Factory International, Manchester.

The production then runs in Manchester until 18 May before transferring to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford Upon Avon from 4 June - 28 June. Tickets are available now.