But what is the history of AIDS stories on stage? How do they fit into the musical theatre canon? How do American and British stories translate across our respective stages? How are we capturing a history, when so much of it was lost?
This in-person workshop explores how theatre, specifically musical theatre and drama, confronted, memorialised, and campaigned through the HIV/AIDS crisis.
Using the revival of RENT as our way in, we will trace the lineage of AIDS response on stage, from radical agit-prop street performance and The Normal Heart to Angels in America and beyond. Combining short presentation bursts, video/audio clips, archival ephemera, and open group discussion, this session unpacks art as activism and asks: how does theatre tell the story of a crisis?
Key Texts: William M. Hoffman’s As Is (1985), Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart (1985), Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, Kevin Elyot’s My Night with Reg, William Finn/Jame Lapine’s Falsettos (1990), Matthew Lopez’s The Inheritance (2017), Stephen Beresford’s Pride (2025).
Over a two-hour session, we’ll look at the history and context of these works, look at clips/extracts to examine how they discussed HIV/AIDS aimed at different audiences and ask where these stories are going now.
Need to Know
Meet the Tutore
Dr Emily Garside
Emily Garside is a writer and professional nerd based in Cardiff. She has a PhD in theatrical responses to the AIDS crisis and is a leading expert on LGBTQ+ theatre. Emily regularly writes for journals such as The Queer Review, American Theatre, and Wales Art Review. She published her first non-fiction book ‘Love That Journey For Me: The Queer Revolution of Schitt's Creek’ in 2021 with 404ink. This was followed by ‘Angels in America at the British National Theatre’ in 2022 (McFarland). While 2023 sees ‘Seasons of Love, why Rent Matters’ (Applause), ‘Schitt’s Creek and the Rise of Queer TV’ (Applause), and ‘From Queer as Folk to It’s A Sin; Russell T Davies and Queer TV’ (Calon Books). She is also a journalist, a regular contributor for The Queer Review and has written for American Theatre, Slate, BBC, and The Stage. She also uses her research and lived experience to tell queer stories through fiction, having had several plays performed in London and nationally.
Dates and Times
Rent, Angels and Miners- HIV/AIDS on stage in London (and beyond)
, 14:00 - 17:00
Tickets are bookable online until 2 hours before the talk begins. If the talk is not sold out, tickets will be available on the door at the box office, subject to availability. Please call the box office on 020 7392 9200 or email enquiries@bishopsgate.org.uk for more information.
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