Radiohead meet Shakespeare in play coming to London's Barbican this year
Hamlet Hail to the Thief
London’s Barbican venue is getting a bit of an eye-opening production later this year, one that combines Radiohead and Shakespeare.
And it’s co-created by Thom Yorke no less.
Hamlet Hail To the Thief is a version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet that infuses a reworked version of Radiohead’s sixth album, from 2003, Hail to the Thief.
It will run from 31st October to 23rd January, 2027, and is described as a “mesmerising live experience that fuses theatre, music and movement.”
We don’t have to rely entirely on what the show’s creators say, though, as Hamlet Hail to the Thief has already been performed in the UK. It played at Factory International in Manchester in 2025, before an almost month-long run at the RSC in June that year.
The Guardian gave Hamlet Hail to the Thief a 4-star review, calling it “a lucid, angsty revenge tragedy, played with clarity and verve.”
It’s still Hamlet, but one with a less traditional approach, and a soundtrack that is a re-arranged version of Hail to the Thief. The show’s own description puts it neatly, saying Hamlet Hail to the Thief “distils Shakespeare’s great tragedy to its dark and glittering emotional core.”
How do you get tickets? They go on sale later this month.
General sale is from 10am on 26th June. But there’s a presale for Barbican members from 24th June, while Patrons get access from 23rd June — all at 10am. Patrons memberships start at £1500, though, so the £59 standard membership may be a more attractive option if you want to get a top seat for one of these performances.
Tickets start at £34 plus fees, although the Barbican’s theatre performances’s prices tend to rise a lot higher than that — in the usual London theatre vein. For example, Death Note the Musical tickets start at £40 for peak Saturday dates, but rise to £165 for the best stalls seats.
A bunch of the actors from the earlier performances will return for this run, including Paul Hilton as Claudius, Ami Tredrea as Ophelia and Claudia Harrison as Gertrude – as will Samuel Blenkin as Hamlet.
“It is fascinating and very strange to me how this came to life and how it has worked. When it revealed itself to us over time I was shocked, having never had this kind of experience before. I am happy for it to be seen by a wider audience in such an intense space,” says Thom Yorke.
We recommend putting the on-sale dates in your calendar as the 2025 performances were, unsurprisingly, sell-outs.
