The Lightest Element

Boston, 1956. Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, one of the most eminent astronomers of the twentieth century, is about to be appointed Chair of Astronomy and the first woman to head a department at Harvard University. Only two things stand in her way: a covert investigation aimed at exposing her as a Communist sympathiser, and the entrenched conservatism of her male colleagues.

When a student journalist asks to profile her, it feels like an opportunity to control her own narrative – assuming, of course, that the invitation is actually what it seems…

Stella Feehily's play The Lightest Element is a taut drama exploring how a challenge to social norms can be almost as difficult as overturning scientific orthodoxy. It premiered at Hampstead Theatre, London, in 2024, directed by Alice Hamilton.