The Night I Kissed Larry Kramer by David Drake, Seven Dials Playhouse, 1A Tower Street, London WC2H | until 1 March 2026 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review by William Russell

Photo credit -Dawn Kilner

The Night I Kissed Larry Kramer

by David Drake

Seven Dials Playhouse, 1A Tower Street, London WC2H | until 1 March 2026

 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review by William Russell

“A memorable performance by Gabriel Clark.”

As a boy from Baltimore who likes musicals, realised as he grows older that he is gay and eventually in 1985 aged twenty two he gets to a place  where he belongs – New York – and sees Larry Kramer's play The Normal Heart - being kissed by Kramer is how he describes the experience – Gabriel Clark delivers a spell binding performance. He holds the interest and manages to somehow grow up before your very eyes.  He had, of course, arrived as the AIDS crisis occurred and what follows are tiny vignettes about surviving and losing friends/ As piece of LGBTQ theatre Drake's play is well-nigh perfect simply because it is a piece of theatre as theatre. He wrote and performed it in 1994 to acclaim. The audiences here in the Hope Mill Theatre revival may prove to be mainly gay but the play itself would work for any audience. The Night I Kissed Larry Kramer was when written was a call to arms as was indeed The Normal Heart and this beautifully staged version – Dick Longdin's set, David Clare's lighting design and the sound design by Hannah Bracegirdle – all those show tunes – does it full justice as does Adam Zane's direction.  But above all it is Clark's memorable performance that makes the evening special.

Cast

Gabriel Clark

Creatives

Director – Adam Zane

Set Design – Dick Longdin

Sound Design – Hannah Bracegirdle

Lighting Design – David Clare