Samuel Blenkin to play Hamlet in Thom Yorke's Hail to the Thief staging

Samuel Blenkin will play Hamlet and Ami Tredrea Ophelia in Hamlet Hail to the Thief, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Factory International announced on Tuesday 25 February. Both are making their RSC debuts. Blenkin was the original Scorpius Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and his screen work includes Bong Joon Ho's Mickey 17. I'm excited, terrified and honoured to get the chance to perform this role in a unique production at both Factory International and the RSC¹

The music is Yorke's rework of Hail to the Thief, arranged by Justin Levine and played live. Steven Hoggett and Christine Jones's adaptation, first announced last year, centres on Hamlet and Ophelia waking up to the lies and corruption in Denmark.

Paul Hilton doubles Claudius and the Ghost, and Claudia Harrison, Princess Anne in The Crown, plays Gertrude. The company is 20 strong: ten actors, three swings off stage and a seven-piece band.

The production, co-produced with ATC Experience, runs at Aviva Studios in Manchester from 27 April to 18 May, then at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon from 4 to 28 June. The Stratford Herald reports that the Stratford run was already close to selling out on the day the cast was named.

The company, as announced

Hamlet Hail to the Thief, the teaser trailer· Royal Shakespeare Companywatch on youtube →