Rosalind Franklin’s genius was in her DNA
Image: Amber McMahon as Dr Rosalind Franklin in Photograph 51 at Ensemble Theatre. Image: supplied
The story of Rosalind Franklin is the story of so many women in history, especially in the field of science. Her intense study of the DNA molecule using X-ray imagery directly led to identification of the double helix – an apex moment in scientific discovery. Franklin was not, in her lifetime, credited with this important achievement.
Photograph 51 is a play written in 2011 by Anna Ziegler, retrospectively setting the record straight. In it, Ziegler depicts the events that occurred in 1951, during the frantic race among physicists and chemists to be the first to discover the formula for life.
Franklin was a distinguished academic and held prestigious positions in a number of university and private research institutions. Her work with X-ray diffraction imaging was pioneering. It was a particular photograph, now famously known as Photograph 51, taken by a student under the supervision of Franklin and her colleague, Maurice Wilkins, that revealed the true nature of DNA.
Despite her significant contribution, Franklin was not acknowledged for her work. In fact she was treated with chauvinistic disdain by her mostly white male colleagues, three of whom were awarded a Nobel Prize for the discovery.
The Ensemble Theatre presents Photograph 51 at a time when historical revision is in the zeitgeist.
“It feels really important to provide an opportunity for this story, and for this woman to have her moment in the spotlight,” says esteemed director, Anna Ledwich.
Playing the pivotal role of Dr Rosalind Franklin is Amber McMahon. She is joined by Garth Holcombe (Dr Maurice Wilkins), Gareth Yuen (Ray Gosling), Jake Speer (Dr Don Caspar), Toby Blome (Dr James Watson) and Rob Jago (Dr. Francis Crick).
Ziegler’s play was awarded Best New Play and Play of the Year after it debuted on the West End and has been acclaimed internationally.
It’s an important and fascinating story and a very late correction to the historical record.
