A new play aiming to celebrate LGBTQ+ performers is opening at the New Wimbledon Theatre on Thursday.

The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me is a story of self-discovery inspired by gay representation in the arts.

The play is inspired by a production of Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart.

This show will explore sexual identity during the HIV and AIDS crisis in the 1980s.

London’s creative scene is a leader in the UK for LGBTQ+ representation.

9% of people working in the arts in the capital identify as LGBT, according to Arts Council Data from 2019.

This figure is more than any other part of the UK.

John Bell plays the lead in the play and is excited to make his professional stage debut in a production that values representation.

He explained that: “Representation is so important in everything we do, in arts and media and everything we do.

“Being able to see yourself represented well and truthfully by people who are like you is so important.”


It is hoped that more plays centring around LGBT characters can start more conversations around sexuality and ultimately impact lives.

Host of the LGBTQ&A podcast, Jeffrey Masters, explained how representation in the arts can have a lasting impact on the LGBTQ community.

Masters said: “These stories educate our families too, so when somebody comes out, you are kind of training one’s family what to do and how to mimic that behaviour when it happens to your own children.

“Representation isn’t just for an individual, but for the whole community, and these representations matter.”

The production opens at New Wimbledon Theatre on Thursday and runs until the 26th of February.

Arts and Entertainment