The premiere (#1) of The Normal Heart brings an urgent story of love, activism, and the struggle of a community the world refused to hear into the Slovak discourse.
Spare Parts Theater returns in 2026 with its second full-length production. This time, it brings audiences one of the most important and most controversial plays of American realism, The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer. In doing so, it continues its mission of opening up socio-political themes in Slovakia that have the power to stir public debate. The play takes us to the United States in the 1980s, where the majority suddenly had to confront the problems of a minority. On the one hand, The Normal Heart is a story of organized activism and resistance to oppression, unfolding hand in hand with a deadly pandemic. On the other, it tells the stories of people whose private lives are suddenly forced into the public sphere. Kramer portrays the clash between the personal and the public with a passion and fury of unprecedented intensity. He confronts the audience with demanding questions: What do we owe each other in times of crisis? How free are we, really, if our bodies are policed? What happens when private identity meets public institutions?
🎟️ Pre-sale HERE
The Normal Heart is set in New York in the 1980s. At that time, a new disease appeared in the world, one that initially devastated the gay community – AIDS. Through the eyes of its main character, Ned Weeks, the play follows a group of men who are fighting for attention and to be heard in a world that would rather look away. It is a play about love under pressure – romantic love, friendship, and the painful, complicated love we feel for our own community. The characters are thrown into fierce arguments, dark humor, and heartbreaking tenderness as they try to find a balance between personal happiness and social responsibility.
Language: English
Cast:
Craig Donner: Tomáš Smolinský
Mickey Marcus: Lukáš Slovák
Ned Weeks: Viliam Sloboda
Dr. Emma Brookner: Martina Gyuriová
Bruce Niles: Tomáš Štrbík
Felix Turner: Tomáš Eštok
Ben Weeks: Martin Chrťan
Tommy Boatwright: Seán MacDiarmada
Rachel Keebler: Karolína Laura Začková
Becky: Rebecca Siposová
Examining Doctor: Ana Jancík
Orderly: Tomáš Smolinský
Direction: Bohdan Metenkanych
Set Design: Seán MacDiarmada, Petra Pančíková, Lukáš Slovák, Dorota Malichová
Costumes: Seán MacDiarmada, Petra Pančíková, Martina Vincová, Martina Gyuriová
Lighting: [NC]
Production: Tomáš Eštok
Production Assistant: Tomáš Smolinský
Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes (including intermission)
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We accept: payment in cash, payment by card, tips in cash, tips by card, smiles and love.
We don’t accept: racism, fascism, antisemitism, sexism, homophobia. #safespace
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The co-organizer of this event is BKIS – Bratislava Cultural and Information Centre.
The activities of the Cultural Centre Nová Cvernovka are supported from public funds by the Slovak Art Fund and the Bratislava City Foundation.
We thank the Bratislava Self-Governing Region for their trust in the creation of Nová Cvernovka.
www.novacvernovka.eu