PLAYLAND | January 23 | Back Door | 8PM

Tickets for the 8PM screening of PLAYLAND

2024 • US • 72 minutes • dir. Georden West

Thursday, January 23rd
at The Back Door (207 S College Ave)
$8 dollars | 21+

Showtime: 8pm

*Video Q&A with Filmmaker/Artist Georden West following the screening.

TRAILER

Synopsis: A raucous work of queer fantasy and history, PLAYLAND conjures a time-bending night in Boston’s oldest and most notorious gay bar. 

With an eclectic ensemble of queer performers, including drag icon Lady Bunny and Pose’s Danielle Cooper, Playland is transdisciplinary in every sense of the word: music, dance, archival footage, tableaux, opera, and performance art are layered into an ethereal piece subverting all boundaries. Artist-flmmaker Georden West’s debut feature is an expressionist and very queer bricolage, focusing on an atemporal night in the renowned Playland Café. Following its employees and others who have haunted the space, weaving together a tapestry of personal and community anecdotes across the bar’s existence.

The Playland Café, Boston’s oldest gay bar, was established in 1937 and was a vital queer hub in the city until 1998, when rampant ‘urban renewal’ projects led to its closure. Demolished but never forgotten, it acted as a meeting ground
for an exceptionally diverse crowd — throughout its lifespan, it featured acts from drag performances to DJ sets and was connected to Pride rallies and underground gay newspapers. As a gathering place for outsiders, it was also a target for
police raids and zoning.