I saw the wonderful play Photograph 51 today at Theater J in DC. To keep things short and sweet, the play is based on the race to discover the double helix of DNA in England in the early 1950's. But it is about so much more. As a person who cares about communication, I want to underscore the communication issues that deeply affected me.
Throughout the play I was touched by the many ways we say -- or all too often do not say -- what's inside. There are as many reasons for that as there are people. Some of the ones masterfully explored on the stage: we do not see a particular piece of information as important as someone else does, we overlook something, we are competing with someone, we undermine someone for reasons such as discrimination (in this case the key researcher was a woman surrounded by men), we dare not say what's in our heart for whatever reason, we don't know what's in our heart.
The play left me wondering what might have been if there had been better communication between those involved. The same holds true today, whether I consider world events or personal matters. We seem to be constantly communicating, and with one new device or another, but not enough is genuinely being said.
Photograph 51 ends its run at Theater J on April 24th. Our need for more heartfelt communication never does.
