The play tells the true story about William Dorsey Swann, written and performed by Les Kurkendaal-Barrett. who was born into slavery in 1858 and was said to have been the first American queer activist and Drag Queen.

It begins when Les is recovering from an operation in the hospital, and in his dream, William appears. They go back to the 1890s to discuss how things were and what had happened to William.  In 1896, William was arrested for keeping a “disordely house” and had been imprisoned for ten months.

Several white men who also attended his establishment went on to testify against William and, in return, had any records of their attendance removed and were set free. However, William had to serve his sentence.

Upon his release, he asked others to run parties with him and ensured they were keeping the required standards. He continued to fight for the rights of the LGBTQ community to gather and hold parties.

As this play moves along, we discover that Les also held parties and how these had to be kept quiet. These two mens lives have crossed similar paths, although centuries apart.

Les allows us to see how America is still racist towards black people especially white police officers and is illustrated by real life incidents Les provides from his own experiences and how others have been treated on the streets and in some cases killed with no white officers prosecuted.

This thought-provoking play shows the audience that there are still so many issues and problems with racism and being gay. An educational and entertaining play.

For more information about The Real Black Swann, please use the link below.

Four Stars.

Reviewed by Simon Bell.

https://keepcolchestercool.co.uk/the-real-black-swann-colchester-fringe/

“The show has travelled internationally since its premiere and continues to find new audiences on the fringe circuit. Alongside performing it, Les is making a documentary about William Dorsey Swann, continuing his research into a life that deserves to be better known.“