Bristol cabaret event to celebrate black queer performers

Manly Mannington said people of colour often struggled to get booked at these events

A special LGBTQ+ cabaret night celebrating people of colour is to take place in Bristol.

The Black Excellence event was created by drag king Manly Mannington, who said black performers were often overlooked.

"Bristol is a diverse place, but the phone would only ring when Black Lives Matters came around," he said.

The show will take place at The Station in Bristol. The CEO of Creative Youth Network Mark Coates said they were "delighted" to host it.

"Our venue is for all our communities in Bristol and the surrounding area to use and the show has now sold out, showing an appetite for their performance," he added.

'So inaccessible'

Mannington said it was been a struggle to find a venue that would be willing to take a chance on his idea after a trial show in September 2022.

"People [who came to the trial show] were asking for me to do more, some had travelled from Wales and Yorkshire.

"I tried to get funding but it was so inaccessible, venues don't take a chance on us because they don't know how popular it would be.

"We want to put performers on the map, but people forget you exist if you aren't in London or Manchester," he said.

In the same style as drag queens, drag kings are performers who dress and perform in traditionally masculine clothing and makeup.

Mannington has now successfully raised £2,680 in a crowdfund to help the event take place.

Ernest hopes the event will help more people of colour onto the cabaret stage

The call for more diverse acts on stage is shared by another performer who will be taking part, drag king Ernest.

"Growing up as people of colour, we have to work twice as hard to get half as far, I'd love to live life where I don't notice that," he said.

"Bristol is a diverse city and it's hungry for diverse performers.

"It's not for a lack of artists, but this will show the excellence of these people.

"It's a brilliant and fun way to ask the world 'why wouldn't you book us?'"