Heavy Hitting “The Normal Heart” Delivers
The Sydney Theatre Company’s 2026 production of Larry Kramer’s classic play The Normal Heart, directed by Dean Bryant, is currently playing at the Drama Theatre, Sydney Opera House.
Set in New York City between 1981 and 1984, The Normal Heart is a blistering, semi-autobiographical drama that chronicles the terrifying early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic – before the virus even had a name, before it was understood how it was transmitted, and when the possibility of medical treatment was remote.
The play isn’t just a history lesson; it’s Kramer’s roar of frustration directed at a government and a society that looked the other way while a generation of gay men died.
The story follows Ned Weeks, a loud, abrasive, and fiercely intelligent writer (a fictionalised version of Kramer himself). After witnessing friends fall ill with a mysterious, “purple-spot” pneumonia, Ned becomes the driving force behind a grassroots advocacy group.
Ned and his friends battle the indifferent New York City Mayor’s office, the silent White House, and a medical establishment that lacks the funding and the will to investigate the disease.
The group eventually turns on Ned, fearing that his “militant” tactics will cause a backlash and out closeted gay men.
Amid the chaos, Ned falls in love with Felix Turner, a reporter for The New York Times. Their relationship provides the play’s emotional heartbeat as Felix eventually becomes a victim of the very disease Ned is fighting to stop.
The cast includes Mitchell Butel in the lead role as Ned Weeks, Emma Jones as Dr Emma Brookner, Nicholas Brown as Felix, Tim Draxl as Bruce Niles, Keiynan Lonsdale as Tommy, and Mark Saturno as Ben Weeks. All deliver powerful, accomplished performances, but it’s Mitchell Butel as Ned who taps into a seam of white-hot indignation that sends chills down the spine. While anger powers his character, there is plenty of heart that grounds this story in lived, human experience. Tim Draxl captures the conflicted motivations of well-meaning but conservative Bruce. Emma Jones steals her scene as the exasperated doctor begging for research funding. And Keiynan Lonsdale is impressive as the charismatic peace-maker, Tommy.
In 2026, this production is an important reminder that the causes of minorities can easily be overlooked, ignored and even weaponised by higher powers. For those who lived through this era, there will be sad reminders of that struggle and those who were lost. For audiences for whom this story is new, it’s a history lesson and one that we must not forget to impart to future generations.
