Two gay medical students attempt to navigate the AIDS crisis – and their own love – in David Glass’s new play at New York City Center.
We all remember the panic and existential dread of the early days of the covid-19 pandemic. The distrust of others over social distancing. The fear of inadvertently spreading the disease to loved ones. The frustration over mixed signals from public health professionals. And, under it all, a feeling of helplessness as we anxiously awaited a vaccine.
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| Jonathan Burke (left) and Matt Walker in Love + Science, a new play by scientist and writer David J. Glass |
Those emotions are aptly reflected in Love + Science, a play at New York City Center that isn’t about the covid-19 pandemic, but the AIDS crisis instead. Written by David Glass, a cell biologist at Harvard University, the drama follows two gay medical students – Matt and Jeff, played respectively by Matt Walker and Jonathan Burke – as they navigate their responsibilities, both to each other and as healthcare workers. The show, which is set in 1980s Manhattan, artfully tugs on present-day themes to highlight how far science has evolved in addressing disease outbreaks, and how much further it still must go.
The play opens with a flirtatious meeting between Matt and Jeff as they begin medical school at Columbia University. Each separately ends up working in the same lab studying retroviruses: viruses that use RNA to integrate with a host’s DNA. At the time, only a few retroviruses had been found and they weren’t well known – a fact that soon changed with the discovery of HIV in 1983.
As their relationship blossoms, the two suddenly find themselves at the forefront of a health crisis. Gay men, some of whom they know, are dying at a disproportionate rate from a mysterious disease. Both devote themselves to helping their community, Matt via lab work and Jeff via clinical care. But unanswered questions about the disease drive the two apart. Screens at the back of the stage track the years as they flick by. At one point, Matt bursts out in frustration over the slow pace of science. If waiting one year for a covid-19 vaccine felt agonising, imagine waiting about half a decade for a test for HIV.
The small stage, repurposing of props and actors in multiple roles is initially a barrier to engaging with the story. However, the stellar performances, sometimes humorous dialogue and delightful depictions of 80s aesthetics lure viewers in. New Yorkers will smile at the show’s references, such as to the iconic disco club Studio 54. Meanwhile, those with a background in medicine will relish the accurate yet easily accessible scientific titbits peppered throughout the script.
During the performance, clips from politicians, news anchors and protestors play overhead, offering a stark reminder of the homophobia that hindered research into AIDS and HIV. The performance concludes by jumping forward to the present day, explicitly drawing parallels with the covid-19 pandemic.
I must admit, I wasn’t around during the peak of the AIDS crisis in New York. So, the show was particularly educational for me. But I believe most people could benefit from a recap, or a lesson, on how furiously the queer community had to fight for AIDS to be taken seriously. The show, which runs until 6 July, is a fitting way to mark Pride Month and a perfect way to ponder science’s responsibility in swiftly tackling outbreaks.