Having fun with big ideas

Daniel Nelson

It’s not surprising that Rare Earth Mettle sparked controversy even before curtain up on the first night.

It tosses ideas around like confetti, some falling pointlessly to ground like litter, others catching the light and making you think. Fittingly, having an unbelievably rich central character with a name widely understood as Jewish – for which the theatre had to apologise and promise to roll out minority safeguarding rules to prevent a recurrence – had no relevance to the play.

“Fittingly” because it’s as hard to believe Al Smith’s play has gone into production without more cuts and curbs on its scattergun approach as it is to believe no-one at the theatre spotted the possible risk of accusations of antisemitism from use of the name Hershel Fink. (The character in question is now named Finn. Smith seems to have had Elon Musk in mind.)

There’s no point trying to explain the plot, which is about the struggle for control of a vast Bolivian supply of lithium. Muskman wants it to make batteries for an environmentally friendly global fleet of electric cars. British Anna seeks to secure it in the belief that it will enable the NHS, fluoridisation-style, to prevent widespread mental illness, while at the same time advancing her career. Nayra, a local politician wants to keep control out of foreign hands – and to finance her presidential campaign. Kimsa wants access to maintain his and his community’s ties to the land on which he ekes out a living, and to cash in on a valuable resource on the salt flats.

The characters represent ideological positions, making and braking deals to further their interests, and the play is all talk: action comes from movements of scenery and snatches of synchronised dance before each scene.

Sub-plots are stirred into the mix, some tragic, some comic, some patently absurd. Other ingredients come and go, like the running joke about English-Spanish misinterpretation. It’s like watching a jumping jack firework, popping randomly around the stage.

A number of reviews have dismissed the play as an incoherent mish-mash, or at best a messy romp. And yes, it feels self-indulgent and in need of another round of tough editing.

But basically it’s playing entertainingly with big ideas, about the confusion caused by mixed motivations, about the uneasy clash between idealism and self-interest, about the need to break eggs – and ethical guidelines – to make a tasty political omelette, about the righteousness and compromises of post-colonial development.

That’s serious stuff. OK, it’s spiced up with corny caricatures, silly jokes, unreal situations and served with undisciplined abandon. But when else are such matters aired on stage? Sally forth to the Royal Court with an open mind and courage and you may find your mettle is rewarded.

* Rare Earth Mettle, £12-£45, is at the Royal Court Theatre, Sloane Square, SW1, until 18 December. Info: 7565 5000/ https://royalcourttheatre.com

+ Royal Court statement: Rare Earth Mettle events and actions status update

18 November2021

Rare Earth Mettle by Al Smith previewed at the Royal Court from 10th November and opened to the press on 16th November 2021.

Originally and throughout the development and rehearsals of the play, the character of Henry Finn was named Hershel Fink. On 5th November, the Royal Court was notified by members of the Jewish community that the use of this Ashkenazi Jewish name for a ‘Silicon Valley billionaire and CEO’ […] ‘on a mission to save the world’ […] ‘and make millions of dollars in the process’ –  risked perpetuating antisemitic tropes.

Following this contact – by email and on Twitter – playwright Al Smith immediately changed the name and the Royal Court issued two statements of unreserved apology on 6th November.

Everyone at the Royal Court is extremely grateful to those who have highlighted this to us and we welcome the rigorous accountability and collaborative generosity that they have provided. We apologise again for the upset and anger that this has caused, and we hope that the actions below manifest that regret.

Since 7th November we have been in active work with members of the Jewish community to understand how this harm was committed on both creative and institutional levels throughout the development and rehearsal processes. We acknowledge our wrongdoing and will include antisemitism in future anti-oppression practices and training. We are meeting with providers of this training over the coming weeks and they will be appointed in consultation with the Board.

The Royal Court Board met on 11th November and is steering an internal review to interrogate how this happened across all areas of the organisation. This will include looking at our artistic practices as well as the organisational ones which let this go unchecked and unchanged.

On 8th November the leadership of the Royal Court was informed that the name had been raised by a Jewish director in a workshop discussion held as part of the series Directors: Working on New Plays in September 2021. We are in conversations with this director as we hold ourselves accountable for why this was not taken further, nor passed on to the writer. This specific event will form part of the Board’s internal review.

We know that a number of independent open group zooms for the Jewish community connected to theatre are happening over the coming weeks and we are looking forward to hearing back from them.

We know that Judaism is not a monolith and that people embrace their cultural and religious Jewish heritage in many different ways in their lives. We are starting this work with artists who are striving for a better theatre sector for themselves to thrive in but we know that staff in buildings, other freelancers, and audiences are all interested in what has happened and might want space to contribute. If anyone would like to get involved in the conversations you can contact us on conversations@royalcourttheatre.com.

While these issues relate to this play specifically, we hope the experience on Rare Earth Mettle can be a catalyst. Through learning more about the Jewish experience and antisemitism in theatre, the Royal Court will work to dismantle antisemitism internally and will strive to join up with other organisations across the industry.

We were very saddened by the abuse that Sour Lemons have received as a result of this incident, and we are adamant that further harm is not acceptable as we work towards a better, healthier, more just sector for all. Our work with Sour Lemons focuses on internal institutional structures and culture and we are 6 months into a 2 year process together. Learnings and actions that come from this will be included in our anti-oppression work together.

Looking ahead, we are proud of the work we have been, and are still developing, with Jewish writers and artists. This includes a verbatim work about antisemitism on the left led by Tracy-Ann Oberman which has been in discussion and development throughout this year. We shall aim to programme this in 2022.