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In 'The Voice of Hamlet,' AI tries to imitate Shakespeare. It doesn't quite measure up.

Published: 07 Jun. 2025, 07:00 Updated: 12 Jun. 2025, 15:50

LEE JIAN
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[REVIEW]

Ok Joo-hyun as Hamlet in the ongoing rock musical "The Voice of Hamlet: The Concert" at the National Theater of Korea’s Haneul Theater in Jung District, central Seoul. [EMOTIONAL THEATRE]

Musicals written and composed by AI were a mere theory two years ago. Today, they are a reality — albeit an unremarkable one. “The Voice of Hamlet: The Concert,” the world’s first musical written and composed by artificial intelligence and edited by humans, premiered in Seoul on May 16. And to answer the most pressing question: No, it doesn’t sound like an AI-written play.

The futuristic rendition of Shakespeare’s centuries-old work is presented through a blistering rock concert, featuring an emotionally-charged Hamlet gushing out his feelings for 80 minutes. Like many new musicals, it is quite likable, featuring eye-catching digital graphics and fan-favorite actors who get up close with the audience as they belt out 21 songs. But like other man-made musicals, it has its faults, including weak and ambiguous delivery, and overly melodramatic performances, which prompts the question: What, exactly, does an AI writer bring to the table?

Kim Ryeo-won as Hamlet in the ongoing rock musical "The Voice of Hamlet: The Concert" at the National Theater of Korea’s Haneul Theater in Jung District, central Seoul. [EMOTIONAL THEATRE]

On that matter, “It’s always better to have more tools handy than fewer,” Oh Pil-young, a prolific stage designer and founder of musical production company Emotional Theatre, told the press somewhat diplomatically last week. For the producer, AI was “just one tool in a toolbox” during the production process.

Emotional Theatre pledges to actively incorporate new technology into its productions. “The Voice of Hamlet” is the first of its “The Voice” series, with which the group plans to continue staging concert-like one-person musicals.

While artificial intelligence wrote the production, it neither elevates nor detracts from the experience in any obvious way for the audience. “What matters is how well we use the technology. I think we are past the point of debating whether we should use it,” Oh said.

“The Voice of Hamlet” began with one director, two writers and one composer at Emotional Theatre, who developed the prompts to generate the initial songs and scenes with AI. But as the project progressed, the human touch took over.

Music supervisor Kim Sung-soo, left, and producer Oh Pil-young of the musical "The Voice of Hamlet: The Concert" [EMOTIONAL THEATRE]

“AI provided the blueprint,” Oh said. “But it was the creative team — the writers, the actors, the musicians — who gave the show real life and soul. As long as we asked the right questions with the clear intent of the show in mind, I found that it was very good at producing a basic, but solid, starting point from which we could build.”

Recognizing that a stigma surrounds AI-generated art, he hopes “The Voice of Hamlet” can serve as a positive example of AI effectively aiding the creation of a musical. “Audiences would not know that AI was used to write this show if we didn't tell them, but I wanted to let people know and have this practice out in the light instead of hiding it,” he said. “It feels similar to when the internet first emerged. In the end, we need to use it well. At this starting point, I wanted to present a good standard.”

Shin Sung-rok as Hamlet in the ongoing rock musical "The Voice of Hamlet: The Concert" at the National Theater of Korea’s Haneul Theater in Jung District, central Seoul. [EMOTIONAL THEATRE]

For the show's veteran music supervisor Kim Sung-soo, best known for his work on “Squid Game,” one of AI’s biggest advantages in theater is surprisingly simple: “It doesn’t argue with you.”

“Musicals are built through collaboration — and that can be both a blessing and a curse,” Kim explained. “Sometimes, a project hits a creative deadlock because of clashing ideas or bruised egos. I’ve seen productions fall apart entirely for that reason.”

This one didn't, though.

“When I first saw the script and the music are AI-generated, I immediately spotted flaws — and I said so,” Kim recalled. “Normally, that would spark a long, difficult debate. But here, no one took it personally. We just talked it through. There were no ego battles.”

The stage of the ongoing rock musical "The Voice of Hamlet: The Concert" at the National Theater of Korea’s Haneul Theater in Jung District, central Seoul. [EMOTIONAL THEATRE]

Emotional Theatre's production, which was staged in four different iterations last year, is an edgy interpretation of “Hamlet.” The computer-generated images on the large panel at the back of the stage and the LED pillars in front of it screen hypnotic and majestic displays that can feel like high-quality screen savers, but effectively relays Hamlet’s internal emotions and are nicely timed to add to the dramatic climaxes of the music.

The score, performed live by a five-piece band on stage, blends rock and pop into a style often described as industrial pop, marked by heavy percussion, electronic textures and distorted guitar riffs. Many of the songs feature catchy hooks, which align with the conventions of musical theater. However, the overall musical structure lacks cohesion.

Unlike traditional show tunes that build familiarity by repeating chord progressions or motifs, these numbers often shift unpredictably, making it harder for the audience to follow a musical throughline or emotionally invest in the recurring themes.

Min Woo-hyun as Hamlet in the ongoing rock musical "The Voice of Hamlet: The Concert" at the National Theater of Korea’s Haneul Theater in Jung District, central Seoul. [EMOTIONAL THEATRE]

Even to untrained ears, the vocal demands of this musical are undeniable. The score is relentless and packed with hard-driving rock instrumentals, rapid tempo shifts and soaring high notes that leave little room for vocal rest.

Like many Korean musicals, this one also has an alternating cast: Two women, Ok Joo-hyun and Kim Ryeo-won, and two men, Min Woo-hyuk and Shin Sung-rok, play Hamlet.

Ok Joo-hyun as Hamlet in the ongoing rock musical "The Voice of Hamlet: The Concert" at the National Theater of Korea’s Haneul Theater in Jung District, central Seoul. [EMOTIONAL THEATRE]

Ok, in a recent Thursday show, rose to the challenge with remarkable stamina and control.

Rather than mimicking traditional rock vocal styles, she infuses the role with her signature pop-influenced sound, favoring more precise, melodic phrasing over raw grit. She does not, however, quite provide an emotionally nuanced or comprehensive interpretation of the title character — which is not entirely her fault. The poor sound system of the midsize theater, in addition to its loud instrumentals, gets in the way of plot delivery.

But the AI's storytelling is also to blame. With only Hamlet featured on stage, the lyrics and lines focus almost exclusively on his internal emotions. After brief contextual references to key plot points, the show quickly shifts its attention to Hamlet’s emotional state. If one's memory of the original Shakespeare play is fuzzy, it is difficult to understand exactly why Hamlet is so constantly emotionally overwrought.

Perhaps as a consequence, the show's creatives remain unconcerned about AI's potential to replace human writers.

“Artists don’t need to be afraid,” said Kim. “We just need to keep doing what we do best: creating something new.”

“The Voice of Hamlet: The Concert” plays through June 28 at the National Theater of Korea’s Haneul Theater in Jung District, central Seoul.