INTERVIEW: Hamlet Hail to the Thief star Samuel Blenkin on playing the Dane in the rocktastic RSC show
IT’S safe to say that the RSC has never put on a Hamlet like the Hail to the Thief version that’s on at the RST until 28th June. Herald Arts was lucky enough to see it at Manchester before it came to Stratford – where it has been in preview before tonight’s press night (Thursday). It comes over with the flash and bluster of a rock video, yet retains its deep poetry, greatly assisted by the poignant and beguiling Radiohead sound-track… And of course Hamlet himself, Samuel Blenkin – who is sublime in the titular role.
He took time out ahead of the preview shows to meet with us over coffee at The Other Place to talk about the show. We can happily report that he is great company, coming across as cheery, thoughtful and authentic.
In Manchester some were drawn by the music and others by Shakespeare – how was it to have that mix of audience?
A lot of Radiohead fans came who said they’d never seen Hamlet or engaged with Shakespeare before, and felt the music allowed them to access the story.
The show works really well because there are moments when the music takes the centre of the performance as well.
I went along to Manchester– and it very much had a gig atmosphere, with people getting their phones out to record the opening.
The whole atmosphere in Manchester was not a normal theatre experience. Being in a warehouse space and climbing the scaffolding staircase...
When you go out you always got something back from the audience. It felt like such a varied response and also so focused and quiet in moments. You’re like, well, maybe we’ve lost them… Are you guys right? And then you’d get an that amazing response at the end, we were just really blown away by that. And I think it’s because of the breadth of the audience.
Hamlet’s a wild, intense riot. I loved that.
How do you think it’s going to translate to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre?
It’s obviously a very different space, I think it’s going to be a glorious. I’ve had quite a fever dream experience where it’s like the stage has been airlifted from the warehouse in Manchester and placed inside the RST. So we’re on the same stage doing the same moves, but the auditorium and the audience are right there and sort of wrapped around us.
The Stratford audience tend to be more traditional theatre-goers – are they in for a shock?
The fact that we run through about one hour and 40 minutes says quite a lot already with what we’re aiming for the show.
Christine [Jones, co-director] describes the show as having a dark obsidian emotional heart and that's what we’re going for. Arrive without your notebook and get ready to just give in to the madness, then the show can offer you something.
With such severe edits and the music so prominent, what are the gains and losses to the play’s richness?
One of the reasons why I was so excited by the concept of the project is that I think it’s punching at so many things that are quite new: a new form and combining two pieces of work together. And as a theatre-goer myself, the thing I'm interested in is when somebody takes a big swing at something, even if it fails.
Because we’re packing that punch and going for a shorter running time, what we’ve lost maybe is some of the kind of beautiful eddies of the text – that’s me sounding very drama school.
I love Hamlet and the text in its entirety and I love all of its mad caverns and twists and turns and all of its mysteries. I’ve seen so many brilliant productions, but I think what’s refreshing about this show is that we’re aiming for something that is more instinctual and more of an immediate emotional connection to the audience.
Because we’ve truncated and sharpened so much, it’s wild and emotional. I think we’ve gained a lot.
A couple of my friends, who I studied with at drama school, came to see the show and I don’t think they missed too much from the play.
And also it’s not like you’re doing lasting damage to the play!
That’s one of the reasons why the play is so extraordinary, it can take a beating. I think Hamlet more than stands up in our production. Hopefully we can illuminate new corners of the text that isn’t possible in a full-length production.
One of the real merits is how it brings out Ophelia’s character – Ami Tredrea is extraordinary – and the use of music properly puts you inside people’s brains.
Those moments of music and madness are a really great arc for Ophelia. I think Christine’s given her agency.
Sometimes that mad scene and the flowers is beautiful. But in our version, Ophelia is making a conscious choice in that moment about her life.
How did you come on board with the project?
I worked with Stephen Hoggett, one of the co-directors, back in 2019, I did The Ocean at the End of the Lane at the National.
But the story of how I ended up being considered for this role is pretty hilarious. I did a TV show in 2019 called Mary and George, and in that I played Prince Charles II. He goes to Spain and tries to woo the Infanta of Spain. There’s a scene where my character sings, and the director was going to get the show composer to come up with a song.
But I felt very compelled by the idea of writing something – I’m also a musician. I asked if I could have a crack and came up with a song, which they really liked it, and I sang it in the show. About a year later, Thom Yorke happened to be watching Mary and George while they were considering people for Hamlet – and wanted someone with a singing voice. Thom picked up the phone and said, ‘What about Sam Blenkin?’ That’s pretty mind-blowing for me, Radiohead have been a huge part of my life. I’m very lucky to be here, all those threads coming together.
And playing Hamlet is the biggie – how does that feel?
Sometimes Hamlet can be a vehicle for somebody’s performance – let’s watch so-and-so’s Hamlet. Oddly, in our version of the play I’m not the star casting of the show, Radiohead are. I feel like we’re a really strong ensemble and the music is this beautiful new character almost – a new voice in the show. That sort of sets me free in a way.
You say you’re not the star, but there is dimension and naturalism to your Hamlet, even though the music, choreography and lighting is often to the fore. Was it challenging?
In a strange way, it sort of creates room for me. The music is living alongside us and often takes the reins away from us, which is brilliant for this particular character and for me.
The songs are in my bones now. And they represent something about the truth and about Hamlet’s madness and about what he can hear in his head. There are various moments in the show where I am sat just singing the songs to myself.
It’s one of those strange things when you've got that much bombast, you need the moments of naturalism in order for the show to operate. It feels so natural for me.
There’s a great freedom and joy in accepting everything that’s happening: I’m on a stage in a theatre; there’s these lights on me, and I’m in my all-black costume. And if you start from that place, then you genuinely can connect to the audience.
And I’m really looking forward to connecting with the audience at the RST, it’s such an intimate space.
Did you see Luke Thallon’s recent Hamlet here?
I went to drama school with Luke, we were in the same year. It’s a little bit insane. And yes, I came to see it – absolutely loved it. It’s like you see somebody else’s and you go,’ That’s brilliant, make sure that’s on your checklist’.
In your production is Hamlet mad or pretending to be mad?
We don’t have that moment where Hamlet says, ‘I’m going to pretend’. Our journey into madness is streamlined and a fast descent, it’s scary.
When you were at drama school did you think of coming to the RSC to play Hamlet?
No, no, no. I never ever thought that I would ever get to play the role, let alone here. It’s a ‘pinch me’ moment. It’s just amazing to be here among the ghosts… This play is full of ghosts. Living amongst them and doing this wild version of the play that is an emotional howl towards the dark heart of the play... it’s just so exciting that we're bringing it here.
Tell us about your route into acting.
I grew up in Tewkesbury, so local, and went to a youth theatre there, the Roses Theatre, from when I was sort of six or seven, that was my journey into acting.
My parents are both Londoners who met when they moved to Gloucestershire. They are not involved in the arts at all.
It’s a familiar story, but my secondary school had an amazing drama teachers who encouraged me and who opened up my eyes to theatre. We did a secondary school production of Oliver Twist when I was 15, and my brother got cast as the Artful Dodger – he’s two years younger than me. The part of Fagin should have gone to a sixth-former but I ended up getting it.
There was a moment in that show where Dodger is singing a revue and there are violin solos in between the verses. I remember just walking over to the front of the stage without even thinking about it and sitting down with my legs in the orchestra pit and just waiting for him to finish.
It felt like there was a little bit of telepathic magic. So that’s my little cliche moment.
Then I auditioned for every drama school under the sun when I was 17, and the only one that I got into was Guildhall, so I was lucky to go there and moved to London when I was 18.
My brother didn’t go into acting; he trained to be acrobat – he did a four-year circus degree in the Netherlands – he is now a writer and photographer and lives in Berlin.
Your CV is impressive and cool. You’ve done such interesting and zeitgeisty things – from Black Mirror to Mickey 17, the latest Bong Joon Ho film.
I feel really lucky to have been part of those projects that feel zeitgeisty or really relevant. I have a great agent who guides me but you’re not really in control of it. Luck and being in the right place at the right time has a lot to do with it.
What do you think people see in you when they’re casting you?
I tend to get cast as young people who are vulnerable – I’m 29. Although I did a TV show last year that’s going to come out in the summer where I played a tech CEO who’s verging on psychopathic narcissist – and that’s a first. Obviously, characters like that are still driven by fear.
What’s your music background?
I took up the flute around Year 4. Then somebody came into my primary school playing a saxophone and I went, ‘I’ve got to play saxophone!’ so I learned tenor sax and also play guitar. I inherit a lot from my dad who is deeply passionate about music – a big fan of John Martyn, Nick Drake, Pink Floyd, Supertramp...
I’ve been writing music almost like it’s a diary entry. It’s a space for me to process what’s happening to me in the world. It’s only been recently over the last couple of years that it’s been something that I feel I would love to share with people and gain an audience for. What’s nice is that I’m in a really privileged position to be able to pay for my life by my acting now, which is a miracle really.
It must be inspiring working with people like Thom Yorke?
It’s ridiculous. It’s quite scary. Thom’s a genius and he lives in his sonic world and he's absolutely in it. He’s a dream collaborator. There was a moment in one of the production workshops when we were working on Scatterbrain. The amazing band that they’ve gathered for the show were there and Thom was like, ‘No, I’ll play guitar and you sing’. I’m singing this song with him, and suddenly in your head you tell yourself to act casual, ‘Just pretend it’s not a moment that you’ll never forget.’
