A Show About HIV Research Takes the Stage at the SF LGBT Center

In 2016, when Timothy Hampton first dreamed up the performance piece LHiV 2 Zero, he knew he wanted it to reflect a host of biomedical advancements in HIV research — and he wanted it all in story form.

So Hampton interviewed those who’d had real experience with the topic, listening closely to their stories. He wrote a series of stage monologues about the importance of the HIV prevention medication PrEP, the experience of being a long-term HIV survivor and the concept of “cure to ZERO,” which concerns researching cures for HIV and methods of ensuring equitable access.

Then he cast the very people he’d interviewed.

The resulting show enjoyed a two-year run. After a brief hiatus, during which Hampton moved to California, the play was revived through Paramount Studios. On Friday, July 18, the show will be staged in San Francisco, free of charge, at the San Francisco LGBT Center, where Hampton serves as the Director of Cultural Programs.

In the wake of the federal administration’s cuts to funding for HIV research, Hampton says, the play takes a more urgent tone.

“We’ll start out with Dr. Tyler sharing the ‘state of address,’” Hampton says, referring to Dr. Tyler TerMeer, CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and co-chair of the AIDS United Public Policy Council. His scene addresses the government’s disinvestment in research, and explains the cuts and their widespread impact.

Dr. Demesha Burns, who serves as the Policy and Advocacy Manager at Women Organized to Respond to Life-threatening Diseases (WORLD), follows TerMeer by playing the role of Mother Earth. Hampton wrote the part to explore the question: “How does the earth respond when her children are sick?”

Other performers include Vincent Crisostomo, a longtime advocate for people living with HIV/ AIDS, as “The Advocate,” and Dr. Patricia Defechereux of the Gladstone Institutes in the role of “Cure to ZERO.”

While most scenes will be monologues, Defechereux’s involves a choreographed dance. With a three-piece band and six background singers on hand, other performers sing — including Hampton, in the role of a “Creative Long-Term Survivor.”

Like others in the cast, it’s not just a role. It’s Hampton’s life.

“I’m treatment as a prevention,” says Hampton, referring to his status as a person living with HIV. He explains that anyone living with HIV, who has suppressed their viral load to an undetectable state for at least six months and also takes antiviral therapy medication as prescribed, will not transmit HIV to sexual partners. It’s what’s commonly known as “U=U,” shorthand for “undetectable equals untransmittable.”

“I really want to highlight all of those different beautiful scientific biomedical advancements that we have created,” Hampton says, adding that his ultimate goal is to create empathy so that people, especially African American people, “can see one another… whether the HIV possible or HIV positive.”

He tells me that National Zero HIV Stigma Day, landing on Monday, July 21, encompasses more than just how people living with HIV are perceived. “Zero Stigma,” Hampton says, “can also mean zero racism, zero transphobia, zero health barriers.” (He adds: “And all of those things are possible if we try,” ad-libbing his own words in the melody of Sly Stone’s “You Can Make It If You Try.”)

As for Friday’s event? Hampton advises people to arrive early, and expect to see a performance that intertwines art with advocacy, research with resiliency, and education with entertainment.

‘LHiV 2: ZERO – Our Truth. Our Power’ will be staged on Friday, July 18 at the San Francisco LGBT Center. Details here.