Written by Larry Kramer. Sydney Opera House. Original Production by State Theatre Company South Australia. Sydney Theatre Company. 9 Feb – 14 Mar, 2026.
Forget the reputation. Forget the history. Forget any sense of “worthiness” or “obligation”. The reason you want to see STC’s The Normal Heart is the superb performances combined with an articulate, intelligent script that is expertly presented. This is what I go to the theatre for.
A retelling of the early days of the AIDS crisis in New York City, Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart proves itself truly timeless, almost prophetic, in its dissection of the competing impulses within a minority community, the ways activism works and the emotional toll of fighting for your life against those who don’t care.
Kramer lightly fictionalising events while bringing real history to the stage. Despite not being either reportage nor verbatim theatre, it comes remarkably close. While it’s not always an easy watch, it’s also laced with humour, love and honesty.
You can almost hear the voices leaning over Kramer’s shoulder asking, “Why do you write like you’re running out of time? How do you write like tomorrow won’t arrive? How do you write like you need it to survive?” (to borrow from a very different show). The result has an immediacy that is hard to replicate.
But it’s the contemporary relevance that hits hardest.
Post-Covid, we all understand the impact on an epidemic. From the deniers to the conspiracy theorist and most of all, the neverending atmosphere of fear and rage it creates. And now, as tales of infighting at Mardi Gras hit the headlines, and as the ongoing omni-crisis of climate change-Ukraine-Gaza-the far right-billionaires swirls around us, the question is constantly asked: “What can we do?”
The Normal Heart offers a clear response. We make noise. We organise. We do not give up.
This remounted production from State Theatre Company South Australia, with a predominantly new cast, is anchored by Mitchell Butel as Ned Weeks, a man desperate to save lives yet met with delay and indifference. Butel’s Ned Weeks is completely lived-in and well earned. It’s the kind of honest performance I crave and too rarely see.
Around him, the other characters orbit, providing counterpoints to his arguments — most notably Tim Draxl’s Bruce Niles, the polite face of respectability politics to Ned’s aggressive activism. His physical and emotional stoicism holds fast until it finally breaks in one of the evening’s most devastating monologues.
In truth, every performance on this stage is a heartbreaker in its own way.
Emma Jones’s Dr Emma Brookner, on the front line of the medical response, simmers with controlled fury before unleashing it on the powers above her. Evan Lever’s Mickey breaks down under the emotional weight of the ongoing crisis. Nicholas Brown grounds the play in intimacy as Ned’s lover, Felix.
Thankfully, the play’s grief and anger are leavened by Keiynan Lonsdale’s funny and beautifully judged Tommy Boatwright — the “southern bitch” who becomes the voice of reason and compassion between Ned and Bruce’s warring factions. It’s a confident stage debut that stays grounded while reframing the intellectual debates with heart and pragmatism.
Director Dean Bryant presents the work with subtle flourishes aimed at emotional impact. It begins with a liminal disco set to New Order’s ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ (a recurring motif), alongside live musical accompaniment from cellist Rowena Macneish and pianist Michael Griffiths, who alternates between speaking roles and musical duties.
The music adds a lyrical, emotive edge against Jeremy Allen’s expansive, decaying set.
For me, however, the enduring strength of the production lies in Kramer’s script.
It eloquently lays out multiple viewpoints on gay life, history and culture with the empathy of someone who has wrestled long and hard with competing convictions — from Mickey’s long-time devotion to the fight for sexual freedom to Emma’s exasperated plea for gay men to stop having sex until the crisis passes. None of the arguments are shortchanged and all are grounded in emotional realism.
The play has its detractors, but I personally find it hard to find fault – either in the script or in this production. But do bear in mind that as a middle aged gay man, I am The Normal Heart‘s core demographic.
Every so often you see a play so well written, performed and staged that it reminds you what theatre can achieve — and makes you wonder why we ever settle for less.
Cultural Binge 
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