Principal Investigator: Professor Jerome de Groot, University of Manchester
Project Title: The Bell Curves

This project involves the development and production of a cutting-edge piece of performance focusing on gene-editing and new reproductive technologies.

The Bell Curves is a performance piece exploring ethical issues raised by CRISPR-cas9 technology, patented by Jennifer Doudna and Emanuella Charpentier. The Bell Curves explores the potentiality of CRISPR with particular interest in issues relating to:

• racialised epigenetics such as the weathering hypothesis;
• reproductive rights and gene therapies: e.g. somatic v heredity treatment and in vitro v ex vivo treatment with specific reference to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy;
• mitochondrial transfer and so-called ‘three-parent babies’.

Written and devised by Keisha Thompson, the piece will be informed by discussion with key academics in the area from the University of Manchester, the Francis Crick Institute, and The Future of Human Reproduction team.

The Bell Curves will be performed between the International Day for Girls in Science (11th Feb 2024) and International Women’s Day (8th March 20234) at the Contact Theatre in Manchester. The performances will be augmented by a ‘wraparound’ series of events seeking to expand upon the key themes of the piece.

The project enables collaboration between artists, genetic counsellors, bioethicists; between academic institutions, research institutes, heritage sites and cultural producers.

Jerome de Groot is Professor of Literature and Culture at the University of Manchester. His primary research interest is in public and popular history, and he recently published ‘Double Helix History’ which examines the relationship between DNA and History since 2000.