ASCUS Goes to...HeLa

By Elizabeth Ward

HeLa, taking place in Summerhall’s Anatomy Lecture Theatre is simply a brilliant piece of theatre - this cannot be argued with. But one simply can’t ignore the way in which the play, concerning the life of Henrietta Lacks, deftly spans the realms of both science and theatre with joyous ease. The story, written and performed by the divine Adura Onashile tells the little known tale of Henrietta Lacks, whose cells generated the immortal HeLa cell line. The HeLa cell line has been integral to many of the greatest discoveries in science, and even today still prompts much scientific discussion – in fact one can only imagine what our world would be like today if HeLa was not in existence. Like millions of scientists around the world I have worked numerous times with the HeLa cell line, poking it, prodding it, burning it, yet until watching HeLa I was ignorant of the true story behind the science.

HeLa is a multi-character, one woman show in which Onashile single-handedly educates and enthrals each and every audience member. Over the course of an hour the audience is told of Henrietta Lacks, seeing it through the eyes of several characters that played important roles in Lacks life and death. Onashile’s skill at changing from character to character is simply tireless and a joy to behold – HeLa is not only highly intelligent and intriguing, but a work of true art.

Along the course of the play the audience are made aware of the scientific scholars who reached the highest points in their careers, purely down to the HeLa cell line. When juxtaposed against the opinions of Henrietta Lacks’ family, this truly strikes and chord and pricks the conscience of the audience. The refrain of ‘Nobody Ever Asked’ is haunting and harrowing, delivered perilously calmly by Onashile each time. One of the most charming parts of the production is Onashile’s take on Lack’s youngest daughter, Deborah and the supposed ways in which she deals with the thought of her mother’s immortality. The audience are captivated by the genuine inquisitive nature of Deborah, even in adult life and the sentiment pulls on each and every heart string, its bittersweet nature creating deeply emotional accents to the play.

One particular moving and shocking part of the play concerns bioethics and the controversy surrounding Chester Southam. The audience are told of how Mr Southam used predominantly black human test subjects in aggressive virology experiments. He carried out a study in 1952 by which he injected Ohio State Prisoners, mainly black in ethnicity with live cancer cells, without their knowledge. His actions warranted a probationary period for one year, however only 12 years later he had been appointed as Vice President of the American Cancer Society. It’s often hard to fully accept the facts that surround race inequality and the feelings of anger, injustice and shock were clearly seen on the faces of every audience member.

In a way never truly done so before, HeLa lays out the bare, naked and dirty truth of race exploitation in medicine. Henrietta Lacks was exploited, her family exploited, but HeLa also opens the door to a much wider and much more difficult discussion. Particularly in America, racial equality is a volatile subject, simmering under society. Though the abject racism of the mid twentieth century that faced Henrietta lacks has long been ended, the feelings and emotions that existed within, still linger on. A study undertaken by Corbie-Smith et al. in 1999, (though not recent, still relatively contemporary) investigated the attitudes of average African-american patients towards the health service. It found there were considerable levels of mistrust towards doctors, scientists and the government and many participants had concerns over the medical conduct of many practitioners towards them. An interesting outcome that most patients saw the process of signing a consent form – a protocol brought in partly due to Southam’s exploitation of predominantly black patients, as protecting only the Doctor and not the patient. It’s somewhat upsetting to believe that in a seemingly western society where equality is a birth-rite, that racial disparity can present itself in one of the most integral parts of society – the healthcare system.

Immortality is unattainable in man due to our inevitable degradation and the short-lived nature of our bodies. Indeed, only in one species Turriptopsis nutricala, a hydrozoan jellyfish has immortality been potentially identified. Despite this, the yearn to live forever is deep rooted in mankind civilisation. Religions worldwide place immortality as a gift donned only unto those of the greatest sanctity and mythology and folklore often depict quests for immortality. So maybe this then, aside from the scientific value, is what makes HeLa cells so fascinating. All those years ago, when scientists at the John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore recognise Henrietta Lacks’ cells proliferating, did they realise immortality was staring them squarely in the face? Did they know that this poor, African-american lady’s cells would change science forever? Save the lives of millions? Be mass-produced 50 years later? Probably not. But they knew it was special. They knew it had potential. Now we all know how special HeLa cells, were, are and will continue to be. But it wasn’t until now that I for one truly knew the story behind it, and the uncomfortable climate in which the discovery was made.

Science and Art are often pitted as ring partners, opposites, contrasts, but here Adura Onashile has married the two in the purest ways. Not only creating a spell-binding, wonderful piece of theatre, but educating the audience in ways that they didn’t know they needed to be educated. And as for the Lack family today? Earlier this year researchers in Germany revealed that they had sequenced the genome of Henrietta Lacks, publishing her private and intimate genetic fingerprint for the world to see. Yet again, over 50 years later, not one scientist asked permission from the Lacks family. However, only a few weeks ago Henry S. Collins and Kathy L. Hudson from the National Institute of Health called for a meeting with the Lacks family to assure them that the HeLa genome can only be used under controlled access, returning some privacy to the family, under their terms. 

Finally, somebody asked.