HIV at Work has evolved over the years as more and more information about HIV and AIDS has surfaced. In addition, the fact that people who have the virus or those suffering from AIDS can live a substantially longer time has also conditioned this piece.

SYNOPSIS

This play uses dialogue in a realistic setting, dialogue in a stream of consciousness setting and monologue.

The workplace of an advertising agency demonstrates how a discussion of HIV and/or AIDS easily changes into denial. The group is transformed when Harvey cuts his finger and fellow workers find themselves needing to explain their fearful behavior to a new worker. Although they wish to continue to keep it to themselves, John says management has a right to know. After a monologue where Harvey explains how he has coped with his diagnosis, he dispels the myths of transmission presented by the other characters.

Harvey contracts AIDS and finds he cannot work. He tells his co-workers about his plans to continue building the hospice the has established in his home and the complications of dealing with his parents. He lightens the mood by imagining his funeral.

Each character shares their own relationship to the issues of HIV and AIDS. Diane talks reveals her issues around intimacy in expressing her frustration at finding a partner in an age where sex is dangerous. Fanny talks about the difficulty of being around someone who is dying. John talks about his fear for his teenage children, given his behavior at that age.

Luis admits to the work group that his wife died of AIDS, although the denial systems of he and his community has made it difficult to call it that.

In Act II, Harvey returns to work having found the cocktail working relatively effectively. However, he is limited to part-time. His co-workers work through their varying reactions to his return. Harvey explains the costs of the cocktail and other issues to help set them at ease, although later admits this was far more difficult than he anticipated. Each character find resolution in their own lives by coping with the challenges of accepting Harvey, his return and his condition.

CHARACTERS