Casey and Diana: A story of hope
By Lizette Tanner, March 23 2026—
From Feb. 24 to March 15, 2026, Alberta Theatre Projects was featuring the dramatic play, Casey and Diana, written by Canadian playwright, Nick Green. Casey and Diana had its world premier at the Stratford Festival and was described as “breathtaking” by Broadway World.
The setting of the story is Toronto in October 1991 during the AIDS crisis. The backdrop of the play is the Casey House, the first stand-alone treatment facility in Canada for those living with HIV/AIDS. In the play, residents of Casey House are receiving a special visit from Princess Diana and the play is inspired by true events when Princess Diana was photographed at Casey House holding hands with AIDS patients without gloves, playing a significant role in destigmatizing the disease. The play focuses on the main character, Thomas, who is a resident of Casey House and is a long admirer of Lady Diana. The Gauntlet had the pleasure of interviewing Helen Knight, who plays the sister of Thomas, Pauline.
Knight describes the play as a story of hope.
“[I]t is an AIDS play, but there’s so much hope embedded in the text and so much hope embedded in the story. You cannot separate the two of them.” said Knight, “And despite the tragic outcomes of these men, Diana’s visit was hopeful and it brought life to these men for even a short period of time, but also brought light to the need for humanity and compassion to this community.”
She spoke about how she got involved in the play.
“[T]he writing was so good that I had to set it down and walk away because it moved me so much. I really think everybody who ended up reading it within our community felt the same way. Like it just floored us. The quality of the text and the writing and the story and the craftsmanship of the story was so compelling that… you want to be part of it in any sort of way,” she said.
The play is taking place during a time when the incidence of AIDS was increasing, but also fears and myths about the disease were spreading. AIDS particularly impacted the LGBTQ+ group which contributed to the stigma against this community.
Knight spoke about the character she portrayed, Pauline.
“[I]n the late eighties and early nineties, there was this epidemic, this contagion that was ripping through an underrepresented community, a community that had a lot of prejudice against it. And everybody seemed to be okay with everyone dying. And so my character represents the voice of the fear of that …. I’m a family member of a man dying with AIDS who is terrified of the disease and the friction that that causes between myself and my brother,” she said.
Knight summarized her experience with the play.
“It’s a good reminder of what our society has been through or what our society tried to ignore, but it’s also a good reminder of the potential of hope inside every human being, … just getting to kind of wrestle with that type of story and to bring that to other people is a real honor and it doesn’t come around all the time,” she said.
Knight discussed the opportunity of representing the LGBTQ+ community.
“[Nick Green has] been very forward in making sure that his leads are queer and then [portraying] a queer man dying of AIDS, he said, ‘please, please make it queer men.’ So … a lot of representation, a lot of authenticity. And if you get actors that are of a certain age, they also will have living memory of this as well.”
Casey and Diana is a story about hope, resilience and our need for human connection. It reminds us how even a small gesture of holding a hand can demonstrate compassion and kindness. Don’t expect to attend this play without needing a few tissues.
To get more information about the play, you can go to the Alberta Theatre Projects website.