Last year, the world was gifted with Hamlet Hail to the Thief, an adaptation of Shakespeare's eternal classic set to Radiohead's politically charged 2003 album, Hail to the Thief. It debuted in Manchester, England, where it presumably gave the Bard a run for his money. Now, after a stint at the historic Royal Shakespeare Company, the play is getting its London premiere at the Barbican Theatre from October 31 through January 23. Because nothing says 'season's greetings' like a Danish prince with a synth-heavy soundtrack.

The production is directed and adapted by Christine Jones and Steven Hoggett, with Thom Yorke reworking and orchestrating the album's songs with a cast of 20 musicians and actors. Samuel Blenkin will reprise his role as Hamlet, alongside Ami Tredrea as Ophelia. So, yes, the guy who sang 'I might be wrong' is now orchestrating a play about a guy who's definitely not sure about anything.

'I'm into finally bringing Hamlet Hail to the Thief to London, and to the Barbican of all places!' Yorke wrote in a press release, sounding genuinely tickled. '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.'

In his review for Pitchfork, contributor Daniel Dylan Wray noted how the play's themes of paranoia and grief dovetailed naturally with the music's similar topics: 'This project really doesn't have any right to work, or make quite as much sense as it does. But it is an absorbing, heart-racing, and thrilling production that gracefully utilizes this music to co-exist within powerful dramatic depictions of grief, fear, madness, and death.' So, basically, Shakespeare meets Radiohead, and somehow, it's not a disaster.

For those who need a refresher, Radiohead's first show in eight years happened in 2025, and Pitchfork covered it. Because apparently, time is a flat circle, and everything old is new again - including Hamlet, Radiohead, and the existential dread that binds them.