Darvill and O’Reilly lead cast of Royal Court premiere of Rare Earth Mettle

Arthur Darvill and Genevieve O'Reilly have been announced as part of the cast for the world premiere of new play Rare Earth Mettle at London’s Royal Court Theatre.

Pictured (clockwise): Carlo Albán, Marcello Cruz, Arthur Darvill, Lesley Lemon, Racheal Ofori, Genevieve O'Reilly, Golda Rosheuvel, Rick Warden

They will be joined by Carlo Albán, Ashleigh Castro, Marcello Cruz, Lesley Lemon, Giselle Martinez, Racheal Ofori, Golda Rosheuvel and Rick Warden.

Rare Earth Mettle by Al Smith runs in the theatre’s main Jerwood Theatre Downstairs from 2 to 25 April 2020, directed by Royal Court associate director Hamish Pirie.

The play is described as a brutally comic exploration of risk, delusion and power. It follows two men who meet outside an abandoned train on a salt flat in Bolivia. One is a leading British doctor with a radical plan to save the NHS, the other a Silicon Valley billionaire with a radical plan to halt climate change.

For Kimsa and his daughter who live there, the arrival of these strangers initially seems like an opportunity - until they both stake their claim on the land, each following their ruthless pursuit of “the greater good”.

The production will feature set design by Moi Tran, lighting design by Lee Curran, a composition by Pablo Drexler, sound design by Helen Atkinson and movement direction by Yami Löfvenberg, with dialect coach Kara Tsiaperas and assistant direction from Camila Ymay González.

Smith, whose previous plays include Harrogate, Diary of a Madman and Radio, was commissioned to write the play by the Royal Court and Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles.

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