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A significant and impactful collaboration is emerging in the capital, as The Edinburgh Playhouse and Waverley Care comes together on HIV ALOUD: RAISE THE CURTAIN — an ambitious creative initiative placing the voices of people living with HIV firmly centre stage and to increase the connection between the venue, communities, and accessible performance and support.

Backed by £20,000 from The National Lottery Community Fund, the project represents a meaningful investment not only in the arts, but in community visibility, understanding and long-term cultural change. Delivered by the Playhouse’s Creative Learning team, the programme aims to challenge stigma while celebrating the lived experience of those affected by HIV today.

At its core, HIV ALOUD is a creative writing intensive, bringing together a cohort of 30 participants aged 18 and over who are living with HIV. Across a series of weekly workshops, led by associate artist Drew Taylor-Wilson, participants will collaboratively develop original writing that reflects their experiences — work that will ultimately culminate in a showcase performance on the Playhouse stage. On the initiative, Taylor Wilson remarks;

“It’s an absolute honour to be working on this project, and with two brilliant organisations. I can’t wait to start the workshops and see what we come up with in celebrating those who are so often stigmatised.” 

What sets this project apart is its clear emphasis on accessibility and inclusion. The programme is free to those selected, ensuring that barriers to participation are minimised, and that a broad range of voices can be heard. Just as importantly, its framing is forward-looking: not defined by illness, but by the idea of living well, rejecting isolation and affirming the fullness of life for those living with HIV.

Waverley Care’s National Operations Manager, Christopher Ward, places the initiative within both a local and historical context. The Playhouse sits at the top of Leith Walk, within Edinburgh’s so-called “pink triangle”, an area closely tied to the city’s LGBTQI+ community and its history — including the enduring legacy of the AIDS epidemic. HIV ALOUD, however, is firmly rooted in the present, offering a platform for contemporary voices and experiences that continue to be underrepresented and, too often, misunderstood.

Alongside the creative programme, the initiative also extends internally within the Playhouse itself, with staff undertaking HIVawarenesstraining, including education on the history of HIV in Edinburgh. It’s a move that signals a deeper commitment: not just hosting the work but engaging meaningfully with its context. Another example of The Playhouse leading the way for many venues across Scotland, and the UK.

For Theatre Director Gordon Millar, the partnership builds on an existing relationship between the venue and Waverley Care, while marking a particularly significant step forward. There is a clear emphasis here on responsibility – on using one of Scotland’s largest stages to amplify voices that have historically been marginalised, and to do so in collaboration with those communities directly.

Leading the workshops, Taylor-Wilson brings over two decades of experience as an award-winning theatre maker and artist development specialist. Their appointment suggests a process that will be both artistically rigorous and deeply collaborative, with a strong focus on nurturing individual voices within a collective framework.

Importantly, HIV ALOUD is not positioned as a one-off event, but as part of a wider effort to address stigma and foster understanding through storytelling. By placing lived experience at the heart of the work — and by culminating in a public performance on a major stage — the project bridges community practice and mainstream theatre in a way that feels both purposeful and overdue.

In a cultural landscape that increasingly recognises the importance of representation, HIV ALOUD stands out for its clarity of intent. This is not simply about raising awareness in abstract terms; it is about creating space for people to speak, to be heard, and to be seen – on their own terms. A new initiative, then, but one with the potential to resonate far beyond the Playhouse stage.

HIV Aloud: Raise the Curtain Pre-Workshop Information

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