Hugh Bonneville and Stephen Daldry pay tribute to writer Kevin Elyot as his Aids play marks 21 years

Hugh Bonneville and Stephen Daldry have hailed the genius of writer Kevin Elyot as the current cast of his hit play My Night With Reg plan to celebrate its 21st anniversary.

The play, which features a circle of gay friends in 1985 all touched by the threat of Aids, was premiered by Daldry when he was artistic director of the Royal Court.

Downton Abbey star Bonneville, who starred in the original cast, said: “It’s a truly lasting play and it is one of my favourite things I have performed.”

Daldry said: “It captured the mood of a particular time. There were other plays tackling gay issues, but none had Kevin’s lightness of touch and humour.”

The cast will take collections at performances during the week from March 30 for charities close to the heart of Elyot, who died just before the opening of the revival, now running at the Apollo. Twenty-one £21 tickets will be sold each day that week.