- Date
- 27 Apr - 18 May 2025
- Venue
- South Warehouse, Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester M3 4JQ
- Tickets
- Standard Tickets from £20
Affordable:
Concessions from £10
Aviva £10 Tickets
Evening performances 7.30pm
Weekend matinees 2.30pm
Please note there are no performances on Mondays.
We have free personal assistant tickets available for wheelchair users and disabled visitors. We do not require proof to book a personal assistant ticket with your access ticket.
To book access tickets please call 0161 817 4531 (Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm) or email access@factoryinternational.org.
We’re putting art in the heart of Manchester, within reach of everyone; and have affordable ticket options including £10 tickets on most shows for those who need them.
For information about Aviva £10 Tickets and concessions visit our Affordable Ticketing FAQs page.
Schools price of £15 per ticket is available. With every 10 student tickets purchased, the 11th ticket is free for a teacher.
School group bookings are available on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and weekday matinees.*
For more information or to book please contact groups@factoryinternational.org or call 0161 817 4531 (phone lines are open 10am to 5pm, Monday to Friday).
*All subject to availability
Suitable for ages 14+.
Running time: 90 minutes approx, no interval
Advice on content: Please note this production contains depictions of violence, suicide and blood.
Accessibility features available for this event: Captioning Audio Description Relaxed Performance BSL Interpreting Wheelchair Access
A frenetic adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet haunted by Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief
Shakespeare’s great tragedy and Radiohead’s seminal album collide for a feverish experience that fuses theatre, music, and movement.
In this frenetic distillation of Shakespeare's masterpiece, Elsinore has become a surveillance state and hectic runs in the blood of its citizens. Hamlet Hail to the Thief centres on Hamlet and Ophelia's awakening to the lies and corruption revealed by ghosts and music. Paranoia reigns and no one is spared a tragic unravelling.
In this adaptation, music becomes an integral part of the narrative. Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke has reworked the band’s critically acclaimed album into a deconstructed score that illuminates the text and is performed by live musicians.
The production is co-created by Yorke and celebrated directors, Steven Hoggett and Christine Jones. Hoggett is a founder member of Frantic Assembly whose other credits include Sweeney Todd, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime and Black Watch. Jones is the Creator and Artistic Director of Theater For One, and director of the immersive nightclub experience, Queen of the Night. Their projects together as choreographer and designer include Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, American Idiot and Let the Right One In.
Bringing together the innovation of Factory International and the incredible legacy of the Royal Shakespeare company, Hamlet Hail to the Thief is equally at home in a vast warehouse and an Elizabethan stage.
Brimming with energy, Hamlet Hail to the Thief distils Shakespeare’s great tragedy to its dark and glittering emotional core.
Please note that Radiohead are not performing at Hamlet Hail to the Thief. Radiohead’s album ‘Hail to the Thief’ is being reworked by Thom Yorke for the production and will be performed live on stage by a cast of musicians and actors.
Tickets
Factory International members on sale: Monday 30 September, 10am
Radiohead fan pre-sale: Tuesday 1 October, 10am
General tickets on sale: Wednesday 2 October, 10am
We have a range of affordable tickets, including options from £10 for those who may need them. You can find out more about our Affordable Ticketing Policy here.
For ticketing and box office related enquiries, please contact tickets@factoryinternational.org or call 0333 322 8679 (phone lines are open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm).
For more information please visit Ticketing and Sale of Goods Terms & Conditions – Factory International
Credits
Co-Produced by Factory International and Royal Shakespeare Company.
Commissioned and Co-Produced by ATC Experience Ltd., Nate Koch, and Vivek J.Tiwary.
Access information
Our full address is Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester M3 4JQ and the what3words is chop.feeds.chase.
You can approach Aviva Studios along Water Street (coming from Quay Street) or along Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield). Both entrances to the building have double sets of glass doors.
Once inside Aviva Studios, there is step-free access to all areas of the venue. The flooring throughout the building is smooth concrete.
The entrance to the Hall is by lift, escalator or stairs from one side of the Social beside the brick arches. There is only one escalator, and this will take you up to the Hall before the show, and will be reversed so that you can travel down at the end of the performance.
The Social has a range of seating, including those with arms and backs.
The bars in the Social and Hall Foyer have lowered accessible service points.
Our building is large. We have portable stools available to borrow if you would benefit from resting along the way during your visit.
We have wheelchair spaces and seats at standing events for all events.
There are accessible toilets on all public levels of our building.
Accessible toilets are located inside the main toilets space in the brick arches of the Social.
Here you’ll find a mixture of accessible cubicles with left- or right-hand transfer, towards the back of the space, as well as ambulant accessible cubicles with grab rails, as well as a Changing Places facility.
The toilets in the brick arches of the Social are split into male, female and gender neutral – all of which contain accessible cubicles. There are shared handwashing facilities in each arch – they have soap dispensers under the mirrors to your left and dryers to the right. There are separate handwashing facilities inside the accessible cubicles.
There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in both Hall Foyers, at stalls and circle level.
There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in the Warehouse Foyer.
You do not need a key to use the accessible toilets at Aviva Studios.
Assistance dogs are welcome in our building, and we can provide mats and water bowls on request, just ask a host when you arrive. We can also take care of your assistance dog if you do not want to take your dog into the performance space. Please also refer to our assistance dogs policy.
If you are bringing an assistance dog to a ticketed event, please let us know in advance by contacting access@factoryinternational.org or calling our access phone number: 0161 817 4531 (phone lines are open 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday).
There is a captioned performance of Hamlet Hail to the Thief on the following dates:
Thursday 8 May 2025 at 2.30pm
Friday 16 May at 7.30pm
There is an audio described performance of Hamlet Hail to the Thief on the following dates:
Friday 9 May 2025 at 7.30pm
Tuesday 13 May 2025 at 7.30pm.
There is a BSL performance of Hamlet Hail to the Thief on Friday 16 May at 7.30pm.
Please note this production contains depictions of violence, suicide and blood.
We have step-free access for this show on row A43 – A57.
Rows B, C and D will have minimal steps to your seats.
There is a relaxed performance of Hamlet Hail to the Thief on Thursday 15 May at 7:30pm.
Relaxed performances welcome all who may benefit from a more relaxed performance environment. Changes will be made to the show and show space to make it more comfortable. The house lights will remain on low, and re-admittance will be allowed. Any strobe lighting will be removed.
Travel information
Our closest stations are:
Salford Central station: 0.4 miles
Deansgate station and Deansgate-Castlefield tram: 0.6 miles
St Peter’s Square tram: 0.6 miles
Manchester Victoria station is approximately one mile from Aviva Studios
Manchester Piccadilly station is approximately 1.3 miles from Aviva Studios
Click on the links above to find detailed access information for each station.
By Bike
There are 40 bike parking spaces at Aviva Studios including space for two accessible bikes.
National Cycling Route 6 passes close to the venue and this TfGM webpage can help with route planning.
You can also hire bikes from on-street docking stations across the city centre. The closest docking stations to our venue are currently on Deansgate by Liverpool Road and (400m from the building) and by King Street (500m from the building). Take a look at Transport for Greater Manchester’s webpage for advice on cycle hire.
By Walking and Other Active Means
Aviva Studios can be approached along Water Street via Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield).
If you're coming from Quay Street, the safest route to avoid construction works is via the cut-through opposite Gartside Street and past Booking.com.
All footways in the surrounding area are well lit and there are appropriate crossings across all main roads.
Pedestrians with visual impairment are recommended to approach the building via Water Street, from Liverpool Road. This route has traditional carriageway and footway design with fixed street furniture which should help with navigation to the entrance.
A footbridge at Left Bank in Spinningfields provides an accessible link across the River Irwell to Salford Central station, and a further footbridge also links Aviva Studios with the Salford area of Middlewood Locks.
Free bus services stop at all city-centre stations, and near to Aviva Studios along Deansgate, Bridge St and Quay St. Buses on these free routes are wheelchair accessible. For full details of the free bus routes, please visit the TfGM website.
There is a car park approximately 0.6 miles from Aviva Studios at Water Street Car Park, New Elm Rd, Manchester, M3 4JH.
There is also a NCP car park (Manchester Spinningfields) approximately 0.5 miles away from Aviva Studios at Spinningfields, New Quay Street, Manchester, M3 3BE. It has 35 accessible bays.
There are a small number of Blue Badge spaces along Water St and Quay St. Otherwise head towards Liverpool Road, Great John St and Lower Byrom St – close to our neighbours, the Science and Industry Museum where there are a small number of additional Blue Badge spaces.
For a list of other parking bays available in the area, visit Manchester City Council website.
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