A candid live Poz Vibe Podcast at Trinity College Dublin will bring Panti Bliss and Charity Kase together for World AIDS Day, with hosts Veda Lady and Dr Robbie Lawlor. The 1 December event puts lived experience, public visibility and the fight against HIV stigma centre stage, as part of a wider festival celebrating community as well as raising awareness.
Essential Takeaways
- A World AIDS Day conversation: Panti Bliss and Charity Kase will discuss living with HIV across generations.
- At Trinity: The podcast takes place at the Stanley Quek Theatre in Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, with doors at 6.30pm and the event starting at 7pm.
- More than a podcast: The programme includes a DJ set by Manwelli, red-lit Trinity buildings and an afterparty at Street 66.
- Tickets and themes: Tickets cost €15 plus a booking fee. The event will cover adult themes that some attendees may find uncomfortable.
Two public stories, three decades apart
HIV diagnosis once carried what Panti Bliss described as the weight of a death sentence. Now, nearly three decades after her diagnosis, she’ll join Charity Kase on stage to talk about living openly with HIV and challenging the stigma that still surrounds it.
The Irish Times reported that Panti, who performs as Rory O’Neill, was diagnosed in 1995 and recalled the bleak expectations people faced at the time. The contrast with her life today gives the conversation a human scale: medical progress matters, but so does being able to speak about it in public.
Charity Kase brings her own perspective
Charity Kase was diagnosed at 18 and spoke about her HIV status while competing on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. The National AIDS Trust’s interview with Kase adds context to that public moment: she has described feeling frightened and short of accurate information at first, and said support from others and making drag helped her process difficult emotions.
That personal experience makes the live discussion more than a pair of biographies. Panti and Kase come from different generations, but both have used visibility to help make conversations about HIV harder to avoid and easier to approach.
A Trinity event with room to talk
Hosted by Veda Lady and Dr Robbie Lawlor, the podcast is organised by Poz Vibe Tribe with GCN, ACET and Trinity LGBTIQ+ Staff Network. It’s set for the Stanley Quek Theatre at Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute; doors open at 6.30pm, ahead of a 7pm start.
The evening begins with a DJ set from Manwelli, and Trinity will light the front of its historic buildings red in a gesture of solidarity. After the podcast, attendees are invited to continue the conversation at Street 66, where Manwelli will also play.
One live show, part of a wider festival
The podcast sits within the World AIDS Day Festival, running from 26 November to 2 December. GCN’s festival preview describes a programme that also includes a gathering to remember people lost to AIDS-related illness, a drag fashion show, bingo, a film screening and a closing drag show.
That mix of remembrance, performance and discussion reflects the wider purpose of World AIDS Day. UNAIDS says the annual observance brings people together to support those living with HIV, remember those who have died and tackle stigma and discrimination.
What to know before you go
Tickets for the live event cost €15 plus a booking fee and are available through the event listing. The organisers also flag that adult themes will be discussed, so it’s worth bearing that in mind when deciding whether the event feels right for you.
For attendees, the useful details are straightforward: head to the Stanley Quek Theatre, look for the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute near the Pearse Street Train Station intersection, and arrive before the 7pm start. The conversation may be serious, but the evening is designed to leave space for community and connection, too.
A frank conversation can help make HIV less of a taboo and more of a shared responsibility.
Source Reference Map
Story idea inspired by: [1]
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