Daniel Lapaine will lead the cast of the UK premiere of Pulitzer Prize winner Ayad Akhtar’s political thriller The Invisible Hand when it plays at the Tricycle Theatre next month.
The stage and screen star, who last appeared in Shakespeare’s Globe’s The Merchant Of Venice, will play American banker Nick Bright in Akhtar’s tense Pakistan-set drama from 12 May.
The Australian actor’s numerous stage credits include Other Desert Cities and Hedda Gabler at The Old Vic, and All My Sons in the West End. On screen he is well known for his roles in television series including Catastrophe, Black Mirror and Versailles, as well as films including the iconic Muriel’s Wedding.
He’ll be joined in Indhu Rubasingham’s production by Bend It Like Beckham’s Tony Jayawardena, Shakespeare’s Globe regular Sid Sagar (The Tempest, Cymbeline and The Oresteia) and Parth Thakerar (The Hard Problem, National Theatre).
The Invisible Hand, which is described as laying bare “the raw, unfettered power of global finance”, will be the last production staged at the venue before its closes until summer 2017 to undergo its major £5.5 million capital re-development.