From left, Kirsty Graham, Jill Rosenthal, Robert Krulwich
On Saturday, March 15, following the 2:00 PM matinee performance at the Ensemble Studio Theatre of HAVE YOU MET JANE GOODALL AND HER MOTHER?, the witty new comedy by Michael Walek, everyone is encouraged to stay for a lively discussion about the play with primate field researcher Kirsty Graham and historian of Africa Jill Rosenthal. Former co-host of Radiolab Robert Krulwich will moderate the discussion about the life and achievements of Jane Goodall, and the cultural, historical, political, and scientific background of the play.
When twenty-six-year-old Jane Goodall began her expedition to study chimpanzees in Tanganyika in 1960, the government insisted she must bring a chaperone. So, she brought her mother. In HAVE YOU MET JANE GOODALL AND HER MOTHER? playwright Michael Walek mines notes by both Jane and her mother to create a sparkling comedy about the process of scientific discovery: what Jane learned about the behavior of chimpanzees and how the duo ingeniously improvised life in the wild.
The audience will have the opportunity to ask questions and join the discussion.
HAVE YOU MET JANE GOODALL AND HER MOTHER?, written by Michael Walek and directed by Linsay Firman, is the Spring 2025 mainstage production of the EST/Sloan Project, EST’s partnership with The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to develop new plays “exploring the world of science and technology,” an initiative now in its twenty-fifth year.
About the Panelists
Dr. Kirsty Graham
Kirsty E. Graham is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Hunter College, particularly focused on the Animal Behavior & Conservation MA program. They are establishing a research group around understanding bodily communication in other species. From 2020-2024, they were a Research Fellow at the University of St Andrews, UK, working for Dr. Cat Hobaiter on an ERC funded project comparing gestural communication across bonobos, chimpanzees, humans, gorillas, and orangutans. Their research there has been published on the Wild Minds Lab. From 2017-2020, they were a Research Associate with Professor Katie Slocombe at the University of York, looking at the development of Joint Attention across humans, chimpanzees, and Sulawesi crested macaques. They examined whether other primate species are able to share attention about objects in the same way that humans can, or whether they have some of the skills that might be required for this ability.
Dr. Jill Rosenthal
Jill Rosenthal is an Assistant Professor of History at Hunter College. Her research examines the history of migration, identity, and international aid in the African Great Lakes region—with a specific focus on the legacy of colonial borders and illicit migration (often termed “refugee” flows). At Hunter College, Jill teaches courses on 19th and 20th century African history, refugees and the nation-state, and violence and healing. Her research and teaching both examine the diverse interconnections between global and local spaces, as well as the ongoing relevance of historical events and memories. Jill’s first book, From Migrants to Refugees: The Politics of Aid Along the Tanzania-Rwanda Border (2023), argues that transnational aid to Rwandan refugees unfolded as part of a global project of nation state formation and regulation--one which deeply affected local narratives of community and belonging. The book also explores the colonial legacies that continue to influence humanitarian aid projects. From Migrants to Refugees utilizes over one hundred multi-sited interviews and archival research conducted in Geneva and throughout Tanzania.
About the Moderator
Robert Krulwich
Robert Krulwich is an American radio and television journalist who co-hosted the radio show Radiolab from mid-2004 until January 20, 2020 and has also served as a science correspondent for NPR. He has reported for ABC, CBS, and Pacifica, with assignment pieces for ABC's Nightline and World News Tonight, as well as PBS's Frontline, NOVA, and NOW with Bill Moyers. In his Frontline role, he has won an Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award for his coverage of campaign finance in the 1992 U.S. Presidential campaign; a national Emmy Award for his investigation of privacy on the Internet, High Stakes in Cyberspace; and a George Polk Award for an hour on the savings and loan scandal. His ABC special on Barbie also won an Emmy. TV Guide has called him "the most inventive network reporter in television,” and New York Magazine wrote that he's "the man who simplifies without being simple." Since his retirement, Robert has been collaborating on a documentary about Oliver Sacks with Ric Burns and a project about photographer Anand Varma's cultivation of jellyfish.
HAVE YOU MET JANE GOODALL AND HER MOTHER? began previews on March 5 and runs through March 30. You can purchase tickets here.
