They began collecting interviews from Massachusetts residents over the course of four visits to bring local context into the premiere, and are hopeful that the experience will leave audiences with a piece of living history. The members of Last Call were more than happy to accept The Theater Offensive’s request to bring “Alleged Lesbian Activities” to Boston for its New England premiere two of its own members are Boston natives. So much of our rich history started in these bars.” The building boom is leaving queer people in Boston without spaces to celebrate, meet, and gather together. “Pretty soon only a handful will be left. Now one by one the gay bars are quickly disappearing,” says Nick Bazo, Director of Programs at The Theater Offensive. “The lesbian bars in Boston, what few there were, are long gone.
Over the past six years, the Last Call team has amassed an ever-growing archive and theater performance - which caught the attention of Boston-based The Theater Offensive, who also found itself asking: Where did all the dyke bars go?
It’s important to look at how complicated and complex these spaces were.” Comprising of four parts, Last Call’s multimedia approach to queer history preservation includes the digital archive of interviews they’ve conducted with people in Louisiana and Massachusetts, a podcast series that highlights curated stories from the archive and live theater performance.
The violence that people were fleeing from, the violence that occurred inside, and the violence that occurred between people. “When we were exploring what happened to these spaces, one of the things we started looking at a lot was the policing that was occurring. “The title ‘Alleged Lesbian Activities’ is actually from an arrest report that was published in a newspaper in New Orleans,” Gabel shares. All of these events aim to bridge younger members of the community with those who have come before.ĭubbed “Alleged Lesbian Activities,” the performance aspect of Last Call’s queer history project comprises of cabaret acts set in the present day, interspersed with audio of the narratives collected by Last Call’s co-director Bonnie Gabel and mitchell. “You can be a 20-something and meet a 40 or 50-something, and it’s not weird.”Ĭomprising of four parts, Last Call’s multimedia approach to queer history preservation includes the digital archive of interviews they’ve conducted with people in Louisiana and Massachusetts, a podcast series that highlights curated stories from the archive and live theater performance. That’s something I think has been lost,” says indee mitchell*, a multimedia performance artist (who purposely does not capitalize their name) and one of the interviewers who helped compile Last Call’s oral history archive. “Not many people are interested in sitting down with old dykes to talk about anything. "Alleged Lesbian Activities" seeks to revive some of the LGBTQIA+ spaces that have gone dark (Courtesy Last Call) The lack of these places primarily affects inter-generational connections, as community elders who once depended on gay and lesbian bars to meet friends and lovers, get their bearings in a new city, or simply be visible, find themselves unsure where to turn. While the success of the gay rights movement has paved the way for LGBTQIA+ people to live more openly, assimilation has also seen spaces that were once community pillars go dark, specifically those that center women and non-binary people. Determined to preserve this important part of queer history before it was lost forever, they resolved to document the lived experiences of people who had found refuge in these spaces through in-person interviews. The members of Last Call, a multiracial collective of queer artists, activists, and archivists based out of New Orleans, came together after the closing of their last local dyke bar. When the lights went down on the last Dyke Night at Machine in 2017, members of the Boston community were left reeling as they mourned the end of yet another long-running safe space for lesbians and queers of all genders.Ī similar loss has been felt in other parts of the country as well. "Alleged Lesbian Activities" seeks to revive some of the LGBTQIA+ spaces that have gone dark (Courtesy Last Call) This article is more than 3 years old.