Theatre of Debate: A Picture of Health screening and Q&A RSA Fellowship events

The Performing Arts Network is offering a chance to see a screening of Theatre of Debate’s latest production A Picture of Health by Sudha Bhuchar and to hear about how Theatre of Debate combines theatre practice with science education.

This play is set in Mysore, Southern India, in 1805 and tells the story of 12 year old Princess Devajammani’s campaign for smallpox vaccination. After the screening there will a Q&A session with playwright Sudha Bhuchar and director Nigel Townsend, and attenders will be able to participate in the debate, casting votes on related issues the beginning and end of the screening. This new play was inspired by Irish painter Thomas Hickey's portrait 'The Three Queens of Mysore', which itself has been called "one of the most important scientific paintings in the history of medicine in India"

The play tells of how the picture was commissioned to record the moment that a young Indian princess submitted to a test vaccination, uncertain of the effect it would have on her. It recalls a concerted mix of politics, power and persuasion by the East India Company to introduce the worlds first ever vaccine to India, their biggest colonial enterprise. It involved British surgeons, Indian variolators, scheming company bosses and friendly royals - none more so that the Wadiyars, indebted to the British who had restored them to the throne after more than 30 years of exile.

The play poses some challenging questions from history about colonialism, the role of art in recording events, how medical research is conducted, vaccination hesitancy, the development of new vaccines and the role of women in society.

04 Jun 2025 | 05:45 pm – 08:00 pm | BST British Summer Time

The Steps, RSA House, 8 John Adam Street WC2N 6EZ