Written in the 1980s at the height of the AIDS crisis, this gritty drama, set in a room on the Lower East Side of New York is a cutting examination of a society shattered by a mysterious disease.

Running from: Tue 12 Jun - Sat 07 Jul, 19:45, Thu & Sat matinees, 15:15.

Torch has been quarantined in a dark, squalid room on the Lower East Side of New York City, which the locals refer to as “Beirut”, after testing positive for a nameless disease. Torch passes the time alone, forbidden from contact with the outside world.

His girlfriend, Blue, makes the dangerous journey across the quarantine line to be with him. Torch tries to keep her at arm's length and they argue lovingly, jokingly, fearfully, bravely and desperately about sex and death. All the while, Torch pleads with Blue to leave before his resistance fails…

"…Alan Bowne’s stunner about love in the plague years…The marvel of Mr. Bowne’s work is the richly raunchy language, tuned to the gritty rhythms of the street. It’s crude yet lyrical…the dialogue sings….They are the Romeo and Juliet of the boroughs, an East Side story…the poetry and power of Beirut…." - Walter Goodman, The New York Times.

"… Alan Bowne makes a statement about sexually transmitted disease that is more powerful than all the soapbox orations which have been attempted theatrically to explore the subject. He deals with the human spirit as it faces the inevitable, and it is a spirit of hope and love, of logic and of empathy …" - T H McCulloh, Drama-Logue

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