The production, directed by National Theatre's Deputy Artistic Director Rober Hastie (Standing at the Sky's Edge), will present a sharp, stylish and darkly funny reimagining of Shakespeare's tragedy this Autumn.
The cast of Hamlet. Headshots provided by production.
Olivier Award-winner Hiran Abeysekera (Life of Pi) will lead Hamlet, returning to the National Theatre where he performed in The Father and the Assassin in 2023.
Joining Abeysekera in the cast will be Joe Bolland (The Play That Goes Wrong) as Guildenstern, Phil Cheadle (Antigone, Park Theatre) as Marcellus, Ayesha Dharker (A Midsummer Night's Dream, RSC) as Gertrude, Ryan Ellsworth (The Grapes of Wrath, National Theatre) as Ghost, Tom Glenister (Trigger Point, ITV) as Laertes, Mary Higgins (Osric), Liz Jadav (Pygmalion, Old Vic) as Nurse, Kiren Kebaili-Dwyer (The Wheel of Time, Amazon) as Fortinbras, Hari Mackinnon (The Comedy of Errors, Shakespeare's Globe) as Rosencrantz, Francesca Mills (The Witcher: Blood Origin, Netflix) as Ophelia, Sophia Papadopolous as Cornelius, Alistair Petrie (Troilus and Cressida, RSC) as Claudius, Siobhán Redmond (All's Well That Ends Well, Shakespeare's Globe) as First Player, Seb Slade (Chariots of Fire, Sheffield Crucible) as Francisco, Geoffrey Streatfeild (The School for Scandal, RSC) as Polonius, Noel White as Bernardo and Tessa Wong as Horatio.
Hamlet follows a Danish prince who seeks revenge after his uncle murders his father, takes the throne, and marries his mother. As Hamlet wrestles with grief, betrayal, and moral uncertainty, his quest for justice spirals into deception, madness, and tragedy.
Director Rob Hastie is joined in the creative team by set and costume designer Ben Stones, lighting designer Jessica Hung Han Yun, sound designer Alexandra Faye Braithwaite, composer Richard Taylor, movement director Ira Mandela Siobhan, fight director Kate Waters, casting directors Alastair Coomer CDG and Martin Poile CDG, and associate director Georgie Staight.
Hamlet will play at the National's Lyttelton Theatre from 25 September to 22 November 2025.
