The woman who wrote a smash-hit play about pioneering scientist Rosalind Franklin visited Newnham to talk about her work.
Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman has been winning rave reviews for her portrayal of Franklin in the West End production of Photograph 51, the play written by Anna Ziegler.
Photograph 51 tells the story of crystallographer Franklin, a Newnham alumna, whose use of X-ray diffraction images led to the discovery of DNA’s double helix structure in 1953.
Ziegler, pictured in the Barbara White room, visited Newnham the day after some of our students enjoyed a private Q&A session with the cast at the theatre in London where it is being performed to sold-out crowds.
Ziegler said: “I was initially commissioned to write a play about three women scientists but Rosalind’s story was so compelling that I completely fell in love with her as a character so I revised the assignment so the focus was completely on her.
“It was interesting to explore her position as a woman in a man’s world but it is shocking and sad that some of the issues explored in the play still exist today.”
The name ‘Photograph 51’ was given to an x-ray image taken by Franklin which revealed the double-helix shape of DNA.
It became the crucial starting point for research that identified how DNA was structured and set the stage for the rapid advances in molecular biology that continue to this day.
Photograph 51 takes audiences back to the London of the 1950s and the audience experience the race against time as Franklin strives to make the scientific breakthrough.
The play also explores the events that led to Franklin being excluded from recognition until after her death of ovarian cancer in 1958.
Francis Crick and James Watson, together with Maurice Wilkins, went on to win the 1962 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discovery of the structure of DNA.
The most significant scientific discoveries of the 20th century were only possible thanks to Franklin’s experimental and brilliant work.
Ziegler’s play reveals the sexism and hostility that kept Franklin out of the spotlight, and denied her the Nobel Prize which cannot be bestowed posthumously.
The playwright Ziegler told students at Newnham that she hadn’t heard of Franklin before she began writing the play, but that she soon became fascinated by her.
Ziegler said: “The stakes were much higher for women in science; they couldn’t afford to be wrong. Rosalind was incredibly driven and had a desire to be right.”
Kidman was attracted to the role because her father, who died last year, was a biochemist.
Ziegler explained: “It was incredible when I found out that Nicole was going to play Rosalind, she channels her beautifully. The play opened in London around the anniversary of Nicole’s father’s death which was an emotional time for her.”
“I never thought more than 100 people would see this play so its success has been very exciting.”
Katie Guest, 18, an MML student at Newnham, went to see Photograph 51 in London after she was offered her place at Cambridge. She said: “The play was captivating and moving. I applied to Newnham partly because of its inspiring history and its commitment to helping women to fulfil their academic dreams.
“It was really interesting to hear Anna explain the background to Photograph 51.”