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Reconnecting Rainbows is publishing Dancing in Heaven, a moving and lyrical collection of monologues, on 1 December 2025 – World AIDS Day. The collection, inspired by the female characters in Russell T Davies’ series It’s A Sin, tells the stories of women from all walks of life who played often unrecognised roles in the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s. In 1981, the medical journal The Lancet reported the first case of AIDS in the UK. By the end of the decade, hundreds were dead: mostly young, mostly gay, mostly men. Across the country, women were there. Mothers, sisters, daughters, friends, lovers, professionals. They cared, cleaned, cooked, coped, cried and campaigned. They lost people they loved. And they went to endless funerals. Dancing in Heaven celebrates the voices of these women – the loud ones and the unheard ones. Together, they represent strength, grief, anger, and an awful lot of love. While the monologues are fiction, the stories are real, drawn from conversations, press coverage, articles and the archives of Switchboard, the national LGBTQIA+ support line. A donation will be made to Switchboard for each copy sold. “Dancing in Heaven reclaims a vital part of queer history, centring women’s roles in a narrative too often dominated by men. Each monologue stands alone in intimacy and strength, yet together they form a chorus that is tender, fierce, and unflinchingly honest,” said Ash Brockwell, Founder, Reconnecting Rainbows Press. “Suzanne’s background in both science and storytelling lends the collection a rare clarity of voice, balancing emotional resonance with historical depth. These stories speak not only to readers interested in LGBTQ+ history, but to anyone who understands the ache of absence, the power of remembrance, and the need to make space for voices that were never meant to be forgotten.” “World AIDS Day, marked on 1 December every year since 1988, unites people worldwide in the fight against HIV and AIDS, stands against stigma and remembers lives lost. It seems like a fitting day to release this book that highlights and celebrates the women who were there during the crisis and will help to ensure that their voices are not forgotten,” said Suzanne Elvidge, who researched and wrote the pieces. Launches for Dancing in Heaven will take place in London and Scarborough:
Contact Author: Suzanne Elvidge (she/her) Email: [email protected] Website: www.thehouseofcorrection.com BlueSky: @suzannewriter.bsky.social Publisher, Reconnecting Rainbows Press: Ash Brockwell (he/they) Email: [email protected] Website: reconnectingrainbows.co.uk Bluesky: @reconnectingrainbo.ws About Suzanne Elvidge (http://www.thehouseofcorrection.com) Suzanne Elvidge is a writer and performer whose work crosses science and the arts, covering fact, fiction and the blurry spaces in between. She writes monologues about lost and forgotten women’s voices based on interviews, news stories, historical events and the overheard. She performs her monologues, most recently at York Theatre Royal, The Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough and at the Whitby Literature Festival. She lives on the North Yorkshire coast with her illustrator wife and sundry dogs and cats, and seems to think swimming in the North Sea in winter is A Good Thing. About Reconnecting Rainbows Press (https://reconnectingrainbows.co.uk) Reconnecting Rainbows Press is a queer publisher that believes in the power of storytelling to bring LGBTQIA+ people together, smash stereotypes, and save lives. It is a UK-wide independent publisher of adult and young adult fiction, poetry, children’s books and non-fiction titles. Its author agreements put wellbeing and fairness above all else, and the company continues to fight proudly against the established corporate norms of an outdated publishing industry. Reconnecting Rainbows, founded in 2017, is a community interest company (14570208) registered in the United Kingdom. All of its profits go back into helping marginalised communities publish their works and tell their stories. 
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