Review: COWBOIS, Swan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon

A fugitive on the run from pistol-toting baddies takes shelter with a close group of women. Following heaps of witty banter, some loud singing and plenty of unexpected bonding and surprising personal developments, the fugitive’s past catches up with them and leads to a climactic shootout against the odds.

Cowbois might sound like a reboot of Sister Act but there is far more going under the satin bonnets. Gunslinger Jack Cannon (Vinnie Heaven) arrives in a small Wild West-era outpost, handsome by appearance, fearsome by reputation and with a bounty of 200 dollars on their head. The town is populated only by women and a drunken sheriff (Paul Hunter), their menfolk having been gone for over a year and presumed dead after a mine blast. 

Miss Lillian (Sophie Melville) still runs her husband Frank’s bar which has only two rules: no guns and no politics (both are frequently broken). Grieving Jane (Lucy McCormick) weeps over her missing fiancé, Lord-abiding Sally-Ann (Emma Pallant) seeks solace in the Bible, Lucy (Lee Braithwaite) is keeping calm and carrying on and Mary (Bridgette Amofah) is raising her son alone. When Jack swooshes into town, on the run and on the hunt for a few days rest, their lives become upended by this dashing catalyst. The return of the menfolk leads to more revelations, realisations and a riotous bang-bang ending.

Charlie Josephine, writer and co-director with Sean Holmes, creates a queer fable for the ages. On the one hand, they show how deeply hidden many trans persons bury their true selves for the sake of societal acceptance; on the other, they uses the returning men to stand in for the most common public reactions to the transgender community: laissez-faire acceptance, ridicule, fear, confusion, verbal abuse and physical violence. Life in an isolated frontier town, where behaviour and thoughts are rigidly and implicitly policed with a zeal that would impress Big Brother, are expertly shown by the words and actions of both the waiting women and their macho partners who return unapologetically empty-handed but still full of themselves.

Josephine’s script has its occasional drawbacks - notably the mystery pregnancy which comes from and goes nowhere, and the flat running gag of labelling anything out of the ordinary as “queer” - but, as it was for last year’s I, Joan, there is plenty to enjoy here in its intelligent exploration of gender politics peppered with some hilarious comedy moments and genuinely emotional connections. One of the kookiest love scenes presented on a British stage sees Lillian and Jack splish-splash around with a glorious blend of hilarity and sensuality. The furiously frenetic finale is more Benny Hill than High Chaparral and the two-hour-plus running time goes down easier than a slug of bourbon.

There’s quality across the large cast. Although hardly on stage after the interval, the relatively inexperienced Heaven does not look out of place and plays Jack with a suave maturity and tender masculinity. Lee Braithwaite is heartbreaking as we see the moving journey from the brusque Lucy to the more sensitive Lou. LJ Parkinson (also known as drag king LoUis CYpher) revels in their role as the non-fictional “One-Eyed” Charley Parkhurst, a stagecoach driver who presented as male throughout most of their life. 

Just as she did earlier this year in the Globe’s Titus Andronicus, fellow cabaret luminary McCormick delivers a powerhouse performance. From the deep anguish evident in her first scene - barely holding back her tears while flapping her fan at a rate of knots - she later shows Jane’s coquettish side, inviting Jack over to help with some manual labours and maybe breakfast too (whether the breakfast will be before he starts work or the morning following his exertions is unspecified). After the return of the menfolk, she flits between her fiancé and her new-found love Lou and eventually becomes a righteous tornado of outrage, angrily rejecting her childhood sweetheart and the attitudes of his friends.

Cowbois is an exciting and insightful play which mixes pathos and action with spots of shameless fun. Its much-anticipated London run will hopefully bring it a wider audience and a West End transfer, even if it will likely give the anti-woke crowd conniptions.

One final personal thought: Josephine and Holmes’ choice to allow the cast to use their own accents deserves fulsome praise. While almost every stage production I’ve seen set in the United States has demanded the use of American accents (regardless of where the actors are from), I’ve found it strange that there is no equal treatment for Shakespeare plays set in Italy or elsewhere in Europe. London’s Phantom Peak - another show set in roughly the same time and place as Cowbois - also gives its actors the freedom to use their native accents and I sincerely hope other directors will follow suit too.

Cowbois continues until 18 November.

Photo credit: Henry T

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