Derek Jarman: film-maker, painter, gardener at Prospect Cottage, gay rights activist, writer…his influence remains as strong as it was on the day AIDS killed him in 1994. But his story, one of the most extraordinary lives ever lived, has never been told. Until now.

This vibrant solo play from Mark Farrelly brings Derek back into being for a passionate, daring reminder of the courage it takes to truly live while you’re alive. A journey from Dungeness to deepest, brightest Soho and into the heart of one of our most iconoclastic artists.

Jarman’s works include taboo-breaking films like Sebastiane, Jubilee and Caravaggio, pop videos for the Pet Shop Boys (It’s A Sin and Rent), his extraordinary borderless garden in Dungeness, his shocking last paintings, and his unforgettable final film Blue, consisting of a single continuous frame of blue and chronicling what it’s like to lose your sight…but never your artistic vision.

Jarman has been performed over 100 times across the UK and internationally, with venues ranging from Wilton's Music Hall, London, The Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, a residency at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, and Greenwich Theatre London, the latter on the occasion of what would have been Derek's 80th birthday, with guest speakers including Peter Tatchell and Simon Fisher-Turner.

The play raises money for the Terrence Higgins Trust.

Running time: 80 mins straight through, 95 mins with interval