Photo by Manuel Harlan
A dozen jackets hang suspended on a stage shrouded in dry ice while eerie music drones. It could be a modern gallery’s art exhibition. If anyone entering Aviva Studios prior to curtain call did not realise in advance, ‘Hamlet Hail to the Thief’ is by no means a standard Shakespearean production. Instead, it is a mash-up of the Bard’s Danish play with Radiohead’s 2003 album ‘Hail to the Thief’. Consequently, the audience is equally likely to include those music buffs like your reviewer who were so traumatised by Shakespeare as part of GCE exams that in the intervening years have never attended one of his plays or watched any film adaptations of his work.
The production is a collaboration between directors Christine Jones and Steven Hoggett, together with Thom Yorke who has adapted his album. Rather than a chronological full run-through of songs from the record, Yorke’s orchestration consists fractured shards of sound which create a perfect fit to the drama. At times, the music from a five-piece band visible behind glass is almost unobtrusive when the dialogue needs to take prominence but nevertheless adding to the mood, often gradually increasing in volume to produce the realisation that it has been there all along. At other moments, it takes centre stage with vocalists Ed Begley and Megan Hill emoting powerfully. The music builds to a crescendo in the climactic fight scene, strobes adding perhaps unnecessarily harshly to the impact for too much sensual overload.
Samuel Blenkin, fresh from a leading role in the new ‘Alien’ series for FX as well as an impressive CV including performances in ‘Black Mirror’ and starring opposite Simon Russell Beale in the Nicholas Hytner directed ‘Bach & Sons’, is remarkable as Hamlet. It is one of the most sought-after theatrical roles and he does it justice with a nuanced but emotional performance. Physically he plays the Danish prince initially as a dishevelled indie student with a roguish charm; the intensity is gradually dialled up as he is haunted by ghostly visions and descends into insanity. When called upon to sing, he captures the spirit of Yorke’s vulnerable alien tones with aplomb. Speaking of moments when the actors break into song, Ami Tredrea as Ophelia has to be singled out for her astonishingly beautiful voice.
The stage design by AMP featuring Sadra Tehrani is a masterpiece of economy. The musicians are housed in a two-storey structure into which speakers are built. Amps are strategically placed, leapt on and moved around the stage, fully utilised by Jess Williams’ choreography. The dancing and movement are at the experimental end of the spectrum, recalling Egon Schiele’s contorted paintings being brought to life. It adds to the physicality of the performance.
(L-R) Alby Baldwin (Horatio) and Samuel Blenkin (Hamlet) in Hamlet Hail to the Thief. Photo by Manuel Harlan
There are clearly moments that are not faithful to the original such as the play within a play reference to ‘The Mousetrap’ and some impactful contemporary swearing. However, despite slimming the production down to a one hour fifty-minute duration, it retains the play’s five act structure and it is striking how omnipresent elements of the play are over 400 years later, especially the “alas poor Yorick” and “to be or not to be” speeches. Ophelia’s closing speech about casual slaughter would have chimed with the mood at the time ‘Hail to the Thief’ was released, coinciding with America’s invasion of Iraq, and seems even more pertinent now in our increasingly fragile and brutal times.
It should be noted that the layout of Aviva Studio is ideal, lending the performance great intimacy and ensuring a good view for all.
Bringing a fresh spin to a play that has been a theatrical staple for hundreds of years is a significant challenge. In ‘Hamlet Hail to the Thief’, the entire company produce a take on a perennial that can appeal both to a Shakespeare fan like my guest who is moved to tears by it and the sceptic such as myself who becomes thoroughly embroiled. It is unmissable.
‘Hamlet Hail to the Thief’ is a co-production between the Royal Shakespeare Company and Factory International, running at Aviva Studios Home of Factory International, Manchester until 18 May before transferring to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford Upon Avon from 4 June – 28 June.
I was editor of the long-running fanzine, Plane Truth, and have subsequently written for a number of publications. While the zine was known for championing the most angular independent sounds, performing in recent years with a community samba percussion band helped to broaden my tastes so that in 2021 I am far more likely to be celebrating an eclectic mix of sounds and enthusing about Made Kuti, Anthony Joseph, Little Simz and the Soul Jazz Cuban compilations as well as Pom Poko and Richard Dawson.
