Don't Tell Anybody

Alik Sardarian’s documentary performance.

A project by the Theatre of Displaced People.

I was 15. We met on a site. Then we met up. Again and again. Somehow we ended going to her house. We talked, had tea…I had told her on the internet that I have HIV. She hadn’t reacted. I thought maybe she hadn’t seen the message. When we were at hers I asked her again. She replied: “Yeah, so what!”

Yana and Danya live with HIV. It’s not their choice nor their fault. They were both diagnosed at birth. Everyday they have to take pills which let them lead full lives. Danya and Yana live in a big city, so they feel practically no discrimination. But is it as simple as that? What is it like to confess to a person - to someone you love - that you have HIV? How do your friends view you? On top of all your other teenage worries, how do you discuss the virus and the myths surrounding it with your parents? To see what it’s like, we follow two young, talented kids who talk openly about what many perceive as a terrible secret.

“We wanted to see how people felt who lived openly with HIV and how their lives differ from those who keep their diagnosis secret. Whether and how they are discriminated against. How they overcome their teenage worries while having to decide such specific problems. What it is like not just to confess your love to a classmate, but also to reveal early or late your diagnosis. Or at a young age, not to talk to anybody about the things that you most want to talk about.” – Director and author of the performance, Alik Sardarian.

Premiere 11^th December 2016 at PostPlay Theatre Kiev