Contact
Abby Singer and CJ Rock
(Writing, TV & Film)
Casarotto Ramsay
The AIDS Plays Project
alastair@theaidsplaysproject.com
(Writing, TV & Film)
Casarotto Ramsay
The AIDS Plays Project
alastair@theaidsplaysproject.com
Books (as Editor)
Queer Plays From Trailblazing Writers Lost to HIV/AIDS
Bloomsbury, Methuen Drama
Edited and introduced by Alastair Curtis
Curated by The AIDS Plays Project, and edited and introduced by its director, Alastair Curtis, this anthology honours and celebrates seven queer playwrights from America, Ireland and Britain whose lives were cut short by HIV/AIDS.
The collection showcases an eclectic range of styles and stories - from a nineteenth-century drag-infused riff on La Traviata to a comedy about a bisexual ghost haunting rural Massachusetts, from a San Francisco-set tragedy about phone sex to an urgent exploration of Irish politics in a London pub. It also highlights these writers' lasting impact on queer culture and activism, whether by introducing the first bisexual characters on Broadway, performing agitprop theatre on the streets of South London, or promoting sex positivity during the darkest days of the epidemic.
The lives of each playwright are retold through moving accounts by those who knew them, brought their writing to life on stage, or championed their work. These are paired with responses from contemporary queer writers and theatre-makers, forging an intergenerational connection and contributing to an ongoing exploration of twentieth-century queer history.
Featuring:
- Plays by Charles Ludlam, James Kirkwood Jr., George Whitmore, Harry Kondoleon, Alan Bowne, Colm Ó Clúbhàn and Robert Chesley.
- A prologue by Amelia Abraham and afterword by Michael Bronski.
- Interviews with Charles Busch, Lola Pashalinksi, Arthur Beckenstein, Victor Bumbalo, Don Shewey, Stephen Soba, Barbara Hayes, Mary Evans Young, Derek Evans and Stephen Gee.
- Responses by Lauren John Joseph, Marcelo Dos Santos, Jack Holden, James Ijames, Charlie Josephine, Margaret Perry and Jordan Tannahill.
- Photographs by Peter Hujar, Robert Giard and Rick Gerharter.
- Design by Tom Joyes.
Released December 2026
Selected Journalism
“Bugarin + Castle Lead a Parade of Shame”, Frieze, April 29th 2026 & May 2026 Issue
“William Joys and the Art of Actressing”, Frieze, February 18th 2026
“The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt Needs a Permanent Home”, Frieze, June 9th 2025
“The Singular Vision of Peter Hujar”, Frieze, February 24th 2025
“On the Playwrights Restaging Queer History”, Frieze, May 2024 Issue
“The Often Overlooked Fashion Photography of Robert Mapplethorpe”, AnOther, August 1st 2023
“Matthew Leifheit’s Unflinching Celebration of his Exhibitionist Muse”, AnOther, July 26th 2023
“Spyros Rennt Wants to Create Genuinely Sexy Photographs”, AnOther, July 7th 2023
“The Chameleonic Self-Portraits of Juan Pablo Echeverri”, AnOther, June 7th 2023
“The Relevance of Derek Jarman’s Blue Now”, Frieze, May 11th 2023
“A Glenties Man: Brian Friel and his Ireland”, Prospect, May 1st 2023
“The Story Behind Newspaper, Peter Hujar’s Cult Photography Magazine”, AnOther, April 12th 2023
“Masquerade depicts the darkness behind Noel Coward’s frivolity”, The Economist, March 30th 2023 & April 1st Issue
“Travis Alabanza and Debbie Hannan Invite the Club to the Stage”, Frieze, January 19th 2023
“Queer Myth and Magic: Derek Jarman’s Through the Billboard Promised Land”, Prospect, December 30th 2022
“Lillian Hellman reminded Americans of their moral duty”, The Economist, December 19th 2022
“Huw Lemmey and Onyeka Igwe’s Tale of Espionage”, Frieze, November 29th 2022 & March 2023 Issue
“Mathieu Lindon’s Archives of Love and Friendship”, Frieze, September 2022 Issue
“Francis Bacon’s animal instincts”, The Economist, February 11th 2022
“Can Greek tragedy help frontline workers process trauma?”, Frieze, August 17th 2021
“David Wojnarowicz at the Reina Sofia”, The Observer, February 16th 2020
Awards
Shortlisted, The Guardian x The Anthony Burgess Arts Writing Prize 2020