Paul Sirett’s new drama Bad Blood Blues asks are Africans being exploited as guinea pigs to test new drugs for multi-national pharmaceutical companies? Why is HIV/AIDS treatment too expensive for countries where the virus is most rife? Is it okay to sacrifice lives to protect the integrity of medical studies?

Bad Blood Blues is a powerfully intense new play that leads audiences deep into a personal and sexual moral maze while confronting the ethics of HIV/AIDS drug trials in Africa.

Bad Blood Blues playwright Sirett is a regular writer for Theatre Royal Stratford East, where he has previously provided the book and lyrics for musicals The Big Life and Come Dancing, and staged dramas Crusade, A Night In Tunisia and Running The Silk Road.

Martina Laird, who stars in Bad Blood Blues, is a former star of hospital drama Casualty whose previous London credits include polygamy drama The Five Wives Of Maurice Pinder at the National Theatre.

Please note, Bad Blood Blues includes very strong language and scenes of a sexual nature.