“Let us give publicity to HIV and not hide it.” Nelson Mandela

In a suburb in Stockport, a husband and wife hide their medication from one another. A young woman in Lagos, Nigeria refuses to speak to her sister on the phone. A hospital nurse wears extra pairs of gloves around a patient, no explanation given. If HIV is no longer a death sentence, why are we so scared of it?

I Am Because We Are is a play based on the testimonies of people living with HIV in Manchester today. Written by playwright and poet Cheryl Martin (Manchester Evening News award winner, Polari Prize nominee) and directed by Alix Harris (Artistic Director, Beyond Face) it tells the human stories of daily life with the disease.

Written by Cheryl Martin
Directed by Alix Harris

Cast
Antonia Kemi Coker
Etta Fusi
Fejiro Emasiobi
Rick Bithell