About the Play:

A Quiet End is a full-length drama by Robin Swados. Four men, one disease, and astonishing heart set the stage for a sensitive human drama about AIDS. Probably the most successful play to deal with the HIV/AIDS crisis without indulging in any indictment to society's reaction to it, A Quiet End is a 1985 play that explores the lives of gay men, living together in a Manhattan apartment.

A Quiet End explores the human side of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Taking place in the early 1980s, A Quiet End centers around the lives of three men who are all dealing with the heartbreaking ramifications of AIDS: a teacher, an aspiring jazz pianist, and an unemployed actor sharing a run down apartment on Manhattan's Upper West Side. All have lost their jobs, all have been shunned by their families, and all have AIDS. Their interaction with a psychiatrist is heard but not seen throughout the play. The unexpected appearance in the apartment of an ex-boyfriend, uncertain about his own future, opens a poignant and thought-provoking evening of theatre that explores the meaning of friendship, loyalty and love. By celebrating the lives of men who, in their most dire moment, become fearlessly life embracing, A Quiet End displays an abiding affection and generosity of spirit for the foibles, imperfections and, ultimately, quiet heroism of its quartet of protagonists.

A Quiet End received simultaneous British and American premieres in 1986 at the Offstage Theatre in London and at the International City Theatre in Long Beach, California, and subsequent productions in Europe and across America, culminating in an Off-Broadway production in 1990 at Theater-off-Park in New York City. It has received wide praise from critics and audiences alike.

Cast: 5 male (alternate casting 1 female, 4 male)

What people say:

"The play, as quiet in its message as in its ending, gets the measure of pain and love in a bitter chill climate." — New York Post

"In a situation that will be recognizable to most gay people, it is the chosen family rather than the biological family, that has become important to these men. Robin Swados has made an impressive debut with A Quiet End by accurately representing the touching relationships in such a group." — New York Native

About the Playwright:

Robin Swados is a New York-based freelance writer and editor whose background and experience are long and varied. He was for many years an actor and musician until he turned his attention to writing A Quiet End, his first play.