The swing

de Edward Bond

At the beginning of the 'The Swing', one of the characters explains that in Kentucky in 1911 a black man was charged with murder and lynched on the stage of the local theatre. Bond's short play sparingly stylises this true story into a powerful and profoundly shocking drama. Bond draws a detailed picture of the quotidian injustice of a community which can condone violent murder and drive people to madness. 'The Swing' was first presented in 1976 at Inter-Action's Almost Free Theatre, London.