Surgent Theatre today announces their production of Steven Dietz’s Lonely Planet to open at Trafalgar Studio 2 in the run up to London’s iconic Pride parade. The play originally premièred in the US at the Northlight Theatre, Illinois in 1993 and this production made its UK première at the Tabard Theatre last year. Ian Brown returns to direct Alexander McMorran (Jody) and Aaron Vodovoz (Carl) for this strictly limited run; opening on 14 June, with previews from 12 June and running until 7 July.
It’s the 1980s. There is no internet and mobile phones are a rarity. A photo appears at a local store of a person’s torso with lesions all over. This is how people became aware of an unknown virus which ended up decimating the gay community. The moment you realise you’ve contracted this disease, it’s just too late. How would you react if you thought you might have a life-threatening disease? Would you want to know?
Sponsored by Pasante and INSTI self-test kits, Lonely Planet is a wonderfully moving, funny and intimate play that focuses on the friendship between the distancing Jody, and the ever-imaginative Carl. The play shows an individual’s struggle to come to terms with illness, their own mortality and the stigma associated with AIDS.
In addition, there will be 7 post-show talks and Q&As that will concentrate on the subjects raised in the play and how they affect society today.
