Play about 19th century cholera pandemic engages audiences on public health and data science

A new play written by Colin Murphy explores questions around trust, data, and public health through the cholera pandemic of 19th century London, and the story of the man who helped to stop it, Dr John Snow.

Miasma is an accessible, one-hour medical detective story that illuminates key challenges still at the heart of science and public health today, such as 'bad science,' groupthink and dissent, and the tensions between public health and personal rights. Through theatrical storytelling, it brings to life the principles of scientific inquiry, the fundamentals of data science and the history and nature of epidemics, making complex ideas vivid and accessible to audiences.

The play offers a rare opportunity to experience a theatrical event that is intellectually rigorous, emotionally compelling and deeply relevant to contemporary conversations around public health, evidence-based decision-making and trust in science. 

Starting Tuesday 14th April, Miasma is going on an unprecedented tour of medical institutions, giving its audience an encounter not only with the play, but with venues that are rarely open to the public, including the Royal College of Physicians (RCPI), the Royal Irish Academy (RIA), the Royal College of Surgeons (RCSI) and Tallaght University Hospital.

The Miasma project is funded by the Taighde Éireann–Research Ireland Discover Programme. It forms part of the (opens in a new window)ERC VICTEUR project, led by Prof (opens in a new window)Gerardine Meaney, (opens in a new window)UCD Centre for Cultural Analytics and the Insight Research Ireland Centre for Data Analytics.

Using a digital platform, purpose built by Associate Prof (opens in a new window)Derek Greene in UCD School of Computer Science, to explore the (opens in a new window)British Library's Nineteenth Century Digital Collection, Prof Meaney tracked the changing association of the term 'miasma' across the 19th century. Meaning noxious 'bad air,' it was the accepted scientific explanation for the spread of many diseases in the mid-19th century. 

Miasma theory was widely accepted as the explanation for cholera until English physician Dr John Snow helped make connections with contaminated water during the 1850s. 

Prof Meaney's work maps how the association between miasma and cholera lingered in popular fiction, memoir and travel writing long after Snow's discoveries. The team at UCD worked with historical playwright Colin Murphy, who was attracted to turning this important story of scientific dispute and discovery into drama during the Covid pandemic. Miasma's exploration of the dynamic relationship between misinformation, vested interests, the integrity of independent science and public policy is highly relevant  for modern audiences and spotlights themes of particular relevance to policy makers, researchers and students of medicine, science, social science and history.   

Miasma is directed by Samantha Cade, who has worked extensively in stage, television and film, and stars esteemed Irish actors Jack Gavin, Niamh McGrath, Robbie O’Connor, Karl Quinn and Peter Rothwell.

To find out how where to see the play and get tickets, visit (opens in a new window)Verdant Productions website.

About the VICTEUR project 
'European Migrants in the British Imagination: Victorian and Neo-Victorian Culture' is a 5-year project funded by an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 884951). The project focuses on the long history of migration and dynamic cultural exchange. It brings together researchers from UCD Centre for Cultural Analytics and the Insight Research Ireland Centre for Data Analytics, who have created a new searchable digital platform (Curatr) for the British Library Nineteenth Century Corpus. (opens in a new window)https://projectvicteur.com/