The Normal Heart

Almost forty years after its Australian premiere at Sydney Theatre Company (STC) in 1989, Larry Kramer’s groundbreaking, semi-autobiographical and Tony and Olivier Award-winning masterpiece, The Normal Heart, returns for STC’s 2026 season.

Set in 1980s New York at the height of the emerging AIDS crisis, the play remains one of the most powerful and urgent works of contemporary theatre, tracing the early years of the epidemic and the activists who fought to be heard.

Witty, confronting and romantic, it is a monumental and moving tribute to the resilience and courage of a community in crisis and a poignant reminder of the power of people coming together and falling in love, even when the world seems to be falling apart.

Premiering off-Broadway in 1985 and running for almost 300 performances, The Normal Heart was the longest-running play in the history of The Public Theater. It made its Broadway debut in 2011, winning the TONY Award for Best Revival of a Play.

Directed by award-winning writer and director, Dean Bryant (Hubris & Humiliation, Dear Evan Hansen), STC’s 2026 production of The Normal Heart features STC Artistic Director Mitchell Butel, Nicholas Brown (Circle Mirror Transformation, Belvoir’s Counting and Cracking), Tim Draxl (Opera Australia’s Sunset Boulevard, SBS Erotic Stories), Keiynan Lonsdale (Love, Simon, ABC’s Dance Academy), and Fraser Morrison (Belvoir’s Grief is a Thing with Feathers, KXT on Broadway’s Cruise).

They will be joined by STCSA original cast members, Michael Griffiths (best known for solo cabaret performances including Sydney Festival 2024’s It’s a Sin and Helpmann Award-winning cabaret, COLE); Mark Saturno (Edward Albee’s The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?; Girl from the North Country) and making their Sydney Theatre Company debuts, Evan Lever (Hayes Theatre’s Merrily We Roll Along) and Emma Jones (Netflix’s Apple Cider Vinegar; Joe vs Carole). They will be joined onstage by cellist Rowena Macneish.

At the centre of the story is Ned Weeks, a New York writer battling to uncover the truth about the mystery illness affecting his community, played by four-time Helpmann Award-winner and STC Artistic Director and co-CEO Mitchell Butel, who says it is an ”honour” to perform this play in Sydney for a new generation:

“The Normal Heart is a landmark play from the past that speaks very much to our present and future. It shines a light on the power and value of community and advocacy, but it is also a deep meditation on authenticity, family, purpose and what it is to love, what it is to fail and what it is to begin again,” said Butel.

“It is a play that makes me laugh and makes me cry and it’s an honour for me to once more be part of this production that has moved audiences so profoundly.”

After a critically acclaimed season at State Theatre Company South Australia, director Dean Bryant says he is thrilled to bring this production to Sydney.

”The Normal Heart celebrates the power and challenges of fighting for the right to survive, honouring the past as well as speaking to the ongoing struggles of the marginalised right now. Anchored by Mitchell Butel’s spectacular performance, I’ve rarely seen a play land on an audience with such an emotional punch,” said Bryant.