Created over 400 years apart, many have noticed the uncanny overlap in themes between Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief. Luckily, creators Christine Jones and Stephen Hoggett more than simply noticed this and, after years in the making, Hamlet Hail to the Thief is finally hitting the stages: first at Manchester’s Aviva Studios, then a transfer to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon next month.
The production synthesises Shakespeare’s text with the angry, driving rhythms of Radiohead’s 2003 album, resulting in a uniquely frantic, yet unquestionably exhilarating staging of the play.
Both works harbour a gloomy atmosphere of political corruption, messy transfers of power and conspiracy. Thus combined, these themes throb like an open wound upon the stage, but never in a way that feels overbearing.
The production never feels rushed or fractured, due to only the most important plot points being staged – the more minor scenes are excellently portrayed through physical theatre and dance, accompanied by the backing band playing the instrumentals of songs such as Go to Sleep and Myxomatosis.
The sheer amount of movement on the stage lends the production a driving force that full stagings of the play (which can last over four hours) cannot achieve; Hamlet Hail to the Thief clocks in at just over 90 minutes, with no interval.
Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke heavily collaborated with the project, and this is clearly evident. The songs are seamlessly and thoughtfully integrated into the production, with almost all the songs on the album being used at some point within the play, whether in (almost) full or as instrumentals.
Crucially, the songs are never randomly selected, as they always contribute something to the scene they are chosen for, whether it is to heighten the atmosphere, aid the feverish movement of the stage, or act as a lyrical backdrop for characters’ thoughts.
For example, between Act 4 and 5 of the play, Samuel Blenkin’s Hamlet sings Scatterbrain in soliloquy, and it isn’t hard to see the connection between the song’s title and lyrics and Hamlet’s inner feelings at this point in the play.
Even the song’s alternate title ‘As Dead as Leaves’ is reminiscent of Hamlet’s later understanding that everything eventually ‘returneth to dust’ (5.1.207).
Upon the dissonant completion of the eerie first scene, the production bursts into life with an explosive rendition of 2+2=5 and I felt the excitement palpitate around the theatre. ‘Are you such a dreamer, to put the world to rights?’ asks Yorke, a question that could be posed to the contemplative Hamlet himself.
The song’s intro employs an unusual 7/8 time signature, a detail that also feels obliquely Hamlet-esque. Indeed, the play could be said to have a slightly unusual ‘time signature’ itself, famously noticed by Hamlet himself later in Act 1 – ‘This time is out of joint’ (1.5.188).
Even the song’s Orwellian title, 2+2=5, seems creepily reminiscent of Hamlet’s most famous line ‘To be or not to be – that is the question’ (3.1.57) in not only its audible similarity, yet also its formulation: the mathematical impossibility of the song’s title mirroring the philosophical incomprehensibility of Hamlet’s quote.
At other times, the production employs the instrumentals of songs as backing music for the more lyrical speeches in the play.
I especially enjoyed the driving instrumentals of Where I End and You Begin, which accompany Hamlet’s poetic lyricism in his ‘quintessence of dust’ (2.2.307) speech, lending the scene a unique and exciting urgency while complementing the beauty of Shakespeare’s verse: the perfect blend of Shakespeare’s and Radiohead’s art.
Around the midpoint of the production, the propulsive and iconic drums of There, There boom from the stage. At this point in the play, the final, bloody scene feels inevitable, and the lyrics at the song’s climax become pertinent – ‘We are accidents waiting to happen’, chant all the characters onstage, almost dooming themselves to their infamous fate.
In terms of standout performances, it is difficult to overlook Blenkins’ startling portrayal of Hamlet. However, other excellent performances are given by Paul Hilton’s especially slimy Claudius, who also plays the ghost of Old Hamlet (the Freudian significance of which could spark whole dissertations), Tom Peters’ Polonius, who expertly leans into the more comical aspects of the character, and Ami Tredrea’s Ophelia.
Tredrea gives a particularly chilling solo performance of Sail to the Moon in place of her ‘good night, sweet ladies’ (4.1.66-71) speech, before entering into her ‘muddy death’ (4.3.155) through an excellent use of the stage’s trapdoor.
Ultimately, the production is simply a lot of fun, even despite the infamous gloominess of both works, and I cannot wait to see it again in Stratford-upon-Avon next month.
Hamlet Hail to the Thief brings a vibrancy and restored sense of urgency to the 425-year-old play, while retaining both the emotional and humorous punch of Shakespeare’s magnum opus.
References
- William Shakespeare, Hamlet, ed. by Ann Thompson and Neil Taylor (London: Bloomsbury, The Arden Shakespeare, 2006).
- Radiohead, Hail to the Thief (Parlophone, 2003).
Will you be in the audience when Hamlet hits Stratford next month?
