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.
