The Normal Heart

Of all of Larry Kramer’s plays, The Normal Heart stands out for its urgent and brutal depiction of those that experienced the Aids crisis in the 1980s. A new production at The National Theatre, which opened this week brings something new and passionate to the already lengthy list of productions.

The story is simple – the play follows the story of Jewish writer Ned Weeks (played by Ben Daniels) as he comes to terms with just how deadly Aids was. Whilst the reminder of death rates and increasing infections may be a little close to home, they are important in setting out just how significant the illness was at the time, and since. Ned faces a constant battle in trying to convince his peers to practice safe sex, and for the media to take the cause seriously. The audience is on his side, and Daniels does a blinding job of being the man that you want to root for. In scenes that are scarily close to 2020, he is accused of spreading project fear. Sound familiar? It is not a million worlds away from the Professor Doom jabs that were thrust at scientists during the early days of Covid-19.

Friend of The Rakish Gent Dino Fetsher is brilliant as Ned’s partner Felix, a fashion journalist which he plays sensitively and without stereotype. As the hunky boyfriend of the lead, there are many in an audience that will relate to being tongue-tied on a first date with one so rippling a torso.

For more about The Normal Heart see our in-depth interview with Dino Festcher in our latest print edition, The Rakish Gent Paper Issue 2. 

Tickets from £20. From now to 6 November 2021 at The National Theatre.

Photography by Helen Maybanks