PATIENT A

by Blessing, Lee

Blessing’s play is a true account of the experiences of Kimberly Bergalis, whose case marked the first known instance of HIV transmission from a health worker to a patient. Issues of testing, ignorance, discrimination and personal responsibility are explored against the backdrop of the raging AIDS epidemic across America, while the moral complexity of the issues are skilfully interwoven into the profound nature of Kim’s predicament. Commissioned by the Bergalis family, the playwright becomes drawn in to the story as a character of his own, and the encounters between Kim and the playwright take on a real life of their own running parallel to the characters and the play itself. Another character, Matthew, emerges as a composite of thousands of AIDS sufferers and as the play recounts Kim’s case, highlighting the media and political circus surrounding it, we see all three characters struggling not only with the debate but with their innermost feelings about themselves and each other. A haunting, provocative new play from the author of A Walk in the Woods and Fortinbras.