There are some shows that entertain you. And then there are shows that grab you by the collar and remind you exactly why queer stories matter.
The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me is firmly in the second camp.
This blistering solo piece, written by David Drake, is a love letter, a battle cry, and a deeply personal reflection on what it meant to grow up gay in the shadow of the AIDS crisis. First performed in the early 1990s, at a time when silence was deadly and anger was survival, the show still feels painfully relevant.
If you donโt know the reference, the title nods to Larry Kramer, the fierce activist and co-founder of ACT UP who refused to let the world look away while a generation of gay men were dying. Kramer wasnโt subtle. He wasnโt polite. He was necessary. And this show captures that urgency with sharp humour and raw honesty.
Itโs a one-person performance, but donโt mistake that for something small. The script moves at pace, sliding between rage, grief, camp wit, and moments of aching vulnerability. Itโs political without being preachy. Emotional without being sentimental. And funny, often in the way only queer trauma can be funny.
For younger audiences, itโs a window into a chapter of our history that shaped the freedoms we now take for granted. For those who lived through it, itโs a reminder of friends lost, battles fought, and the complicated cocktail of fear and defiance that defined the era.
And staged at Seven Dials Playhouse, it feels intimate in all the right ways. Youโre close enough to catch every breath, every flicker of defiance, every crack in the voice. Itโs the kind of theatre that lingers long after youโve stepped back into Covent Garden and its tourists.
This isnโt a glossy jukebox musical. Itโs not background noise. Itโs queer history told through one manโs body and voice. Itโs a reminder that activism and art have always gone hand in hand. And itโs a powerful night out that deserves a full house.
If you care about where weโve come from and where weโre going, book a ticket.
The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me
๐ Seven Dials Playhouse, 1A Tower Street, London WC2H 9NP
๐ Nearest Tube: Covent Garden / Leicester Square
๐ Runs until 1st of March
