Originally aired on BBC Radio 2 on March 19 2023. A Telesgop Production.

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Episode Description
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40 years ago the HIV virus, and the resulting disease AIDS, were named. It devastated people’s lives all over the world, and brought immeasurable heartbreak to the theatre community of Broadway and the West End.

Theatre, however, became a voice of awareness, rebelling against the stigma and the destructive advertisements at the time. There were plays, one-man performances and musicals highlighting the disease and its effects on people, spreading messages of hope and support and helping to quash hurtful and misleading information.

In this programme, actor Jonathan Bailey, who performed as a child in Les Misérables in the West End at the time, tells the story of HIV/AIDS impact on the theatre community, and tells how this community supported those affected. This documentary includes powerful stories from those at the heart of the theatre community at the time, including producers Cameron Mackintosh and Nick Allott, lyricist Tim Rice and musical director Jae Alexander, alongside performers such as actor and activist Jill Nalder (Les Misérables, Oliver!), Claire Moore (Phantom of the Opera), Craig Revel Horwood, Stifyn Parri (Les Misérables, Brookside) and Make a Difference charity’s Melanie Tranter.

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Songs Included
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Blondie – Call Me
Relax, Don't Do It – Frankie Goes To Hollywood
Tainted Love – Soft Cell
Searchin' – Hazell Dean
No Clause – Boy George
Smalltown Boy – Bronski Beat
Too Much Love Will Kill You – Queen
Empty Chairs At Empty Tables – Les Miserables
Falsettoland – Falsettos 
Something Bad Is Happening / More Racquetball – Falsettos
Seasons of Love – Rent
It's A Sin – Pet Shop Boys
Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) – Eurythmics
Copacabana (At the Copa) – Barry Manilow
Time After Time – Cyndi Lauper
Symphonic Suite (Pt.1) – Phantom of the Opera, Andrew Lloyd Webber
All I Ask of You – Phantom of the Opera, Andrew Lloyd Webber
And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going – Jennifer Holliday
It's A Sin – Elton John & Years & Years
Mighty Real – Sylvester
I Dare You – Make A Difference Voices
That's What Friends Are For – Dionne Warwick, Elton John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder

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