Full casting has been announced for The Lightest Element at Hampstead Theatre in London.
Maureen Beattie (Yerma, Young Vic; Duet for One, Orange Tree) will star as Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin in Stella Feehily’s gripping new drama about the revolutionary astronomer.
Joining Maureen onstage are Steffan Cennydd (Hir, Park Theatre); Simon Chandler (Ravens: Spassky vs Fischer, Hampstead Theatre); Rina Mahoney (Mary and George, Sky); Simon Markey (The Visit, National Theatre); Julian Wadham (Another Country, West End; The English Patient; The Madness of King George) plus recent graduates Hari Kang and Annie Kingsnorth.
Directed by Alice Hamilton, Feehily’s play shines a light on one of the most eminent astronomers of the 20th Century, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, who one hundred years ago changed our perception of stars.
Set in Boston, 1956, the play charts the astronomer’s career as she is about to be appointed Chair of Astronomy at Harvard. Only two things stand in her way: a covert investigation aimed at exposing her as a communist sympathiser, and the entrenched conservatism of her male colleagues.
The Lightest Element runs from 5 September 2024 to 12 October 2024 .
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