Less 'words', more 'vibes': has Factory International found its rhythm?

When writing about a new production of Hamlet — especially one that takes a wild swing — there’s always the temptation to quote the play itself, and ask if it’s “a very palpable hit”. Generally, this urge is to be avoided. But when it comes to Hamlet Hail to The Thief the question of whether the show is a palpable hit or not becomes irresistible, because undoubtedly, Factory International could really use one.

If you had to come up with an imaginary show for Factory International, a cultural organisation known for Manchester’s more avant garde events, you might concoct something like Hamlet Hail to the Thief. The play, staged at Factory’s home of Aviva Studios, is a collaboration between Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and the Royal Shakespeare Company, interweaving the playwright’s greatest tragedy with the band’s lauded 2003 album. Like much of Factory’s output, it’s an experimental, mixed-media mash-up, and while few people would have thought to pair Shakespeare and Radiohead, the combination results in an urgent, often thrilling production.

Christine Jones, the co-director, first came up with the idea in 2004, when she was struck by the “uncanny synchronicity” between the album and the play. Two decades later, Jones co-created the show with choreographer Steven Hoggett of performing arts group Frantic Assembly, and Yorke, who re-scored the album for this production himself. 

“Thom Yorke and the RSC — that's a very sweet spot project,” Factory International’s artistic director, John McGrath, tells me via zoom with a twinkly-eyed enthusiasm. “It’s something unusual, but at the same time it invites a lot of people in.” It’s notable that almost two years since it first opened its doors, Factory International still needs to extend that invitation.

Factory International is the arts organisation that grew out of Manchester International Festival. That biennial event, run since 2007, had been successful enough that they wanted to expand into a permanent building producing year-round work. Initially the physical venue itself, built on the former Granada Studios site, was also going to be called Factory International — but insurance company Aviva bought the naming rights for £35m. 

The cash injection was much-needed, with the enormous 13,350 sq ft arts venue having a famously difficult birth. Coming in four years late with a price tag of £241m, Aviva Studios cost twice its original budget, with a final design about half as ambitious as the architect’s original plans. There were grumblings when it opened about diverting funds that could’ve gone to existing venues, or that it was ‘artwashing’ the commercial redevelopment of the surrounding area. This arrived alongside disappointment at the building itself (which The Spectator declared had “all the charisma of Chernobyl”) or at programming that is too niche and highbrow to be good value for the citizens of Manchester.