Casting announced for Radiohead collaboration Hamlet Hail to the Thief coming to the RSC in June
The combination of a Radiohead-infused Hamlet is proving irresistible as the forthcoming production of Hamlet Hail to the Thief is close to being sold out.
With casting announced today (Tuesday), the remaining tickets for the limited three-week run are bound to go fairly quickly, so don’t miss the chance to snap up yours.
Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, and celebrated directors, Steven Hoggett and Christine Jones have joined forces for this frenetic adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet haunted by Radiohead’s celebrated 2003 album Hail to the Thief.
Described as a fast-paced distillation of the play, Shakespeare’s words and Radiohead’s album illuminate one another as the music becomes a critical part of the narrative. Personally reworked by Yorke, the deconstructed album will be performed live onstage by a cast of 20 musicians and actors.
The production opens at the Aviva Studios, home of Factory International, Manchester on 27th April, and runs to 18th May, before transferring to Stratford from 4th to 28th June.
Making their RSC debuts, Samuel Blenkin and Ami Tredrea take on the featured roles of Hamlet and Ophelia. They are joined by Paul Hilton as Claudius/Ghost, Annabel Baldwin as Horatio, Tom Peters as Polonius and Claudia Harrison as Gertrude, in this frenetic adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Blenkin’s is also set to appear in upcoming films Mickey 17 - directed by Bong Joon-Ho and Alien: Earth, FX produced by Ridley Scott. His credits include Black Mirror, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, West End – originating the role of Scorpius Malfoy; and The Ocean at The End Of The Lane, National Theatre.
Tredrea credits include London Tide and The Crucible, both National Theatre; Prime Target, Apple TV; and Black Mirror, Netflix.
Paul Hilton (Olivier nominated for An Enemy of the People, West End; Juno and the Paycock, West End; Slow Horses, Apple TV; The Crown, Netflix) will play Claudius/ Ghost and Claudia Harrison (Princess Anne in The Crown, Netflix; Humans, Channel 4; The Painkiller, Lyric Belfast) will play Gertrude.
The cast also includes Annabel Baldwin (Tender, Bush Theatre; Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, West End; I hate Suzie, Amazon Prime) as Horatio, Brandon Grace (Cyrano, Park Theatre; London Tide and Much Ado About Nothing both National Theatre) as Laertes, James Cooney (Measure for Measure and Troilus and Cressida, both RSC; Romeo and Juliet, Almeida) as Rosencrantz, Felipe Pacheco (Metamorphosis and Othello, both Frantic Assembly; The Responder, BBC One) as Guildenstern, Tom Peters (Stranger Things and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, both West End; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time, UK tour) as Polonius and Romaya Weaver (The Cabinet Minister, Menier Chocolate Factory) as Gravedigger.
The cast is completed by Daniel Davids (The Lion King and Everybody's Talking About Jamie, both West End), Kieran Garland (The Ocean at the End of the Lane and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, both National Theatre) and Marienella Phillips (Love's Labour's Lost, RSC; A Christmas Carol, The Lowry) 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.
Also announced today is choreographer Jess Williams (an associate director and creative practitioner at Frantic Assembly whose other credits include Nye, National Theatre; Richard III, Shakespeare Globe and Lost and Found, Factory International).
