One of the first-ever shows that I reviewed for the amazing Get the Chance organisation was a clown showcase at the University of South Wales Cardiff (which you can read more about at https://getthechance.wales/2019/09/21/review-entree-by-rhys-payne/?) which showcased comedic stylings of one Jose Fortuna and specifically his amazing clowning skills!! Flash forward some many years and he is now organising and hosting his own comedy spectacular at Revolution Cardiff! Jose’s started the night with a country-inspired dance routine (to fit the cowboy theme) and ensured the audience stayed excited for each and every performer. He was also able to squeeze in many hilarious jokes as a response to the previous performer which showed incredible quick wit and intelligence! After Jose had made his grand entrance and an intense light show had taken place the stage was rushed by a massive hawk mascot who was unusually very angry and frustrated. Even now, however, I am not sure the reason for this bird as it was met with many confused faces from the audience with no actual explanation but it did give anyone something to talk about during the interval!
The first billed performer of the evening was the amazing Chrissy Derbyshire who had crafted a wonderful set all about finding yourself and turning trauma into comedy. The loveable comedian harnessed her awkwardness to create a very relatable and accessible performance as everyone has gone through a phase of not knowing what do to with our lives. The delivery of the set combined beautifully with the actual content and the perfect amount of jokes were sprinkled throughout making for an insightful yet hilarious performance! What started its life as a comment about recently sticking her hand into a bin thinking it was a Dyson hand dryer, turned into a story about finding what you love and doing what you enjoy. Obviously, this performer is passionate about comedy and using the stand-up format to deliver this message was such a full-circle moment.
Now on paper jokes about politics, town planning and the NHS should not work but the second performer of the evening Joe Dehuai had managed to find the humour in some of the traditionally humourless spaces. He managed to inject some of his own life performances into his set as he began talking about his frustration at the point of curbs and how town planning is like the politics for buildings with the conservatories being money-hoarding banks and Liberal Democrats being annoying hipster coffee shops! Now I am not usually a fan of politically based jokes (due to my own lack of knowledge in this area) but the laughs continued as the comedian shouted “Your mum is like a bike lane … more people would use her if public opinion was more favourable” which was absolutely incredible! The highlight of the routine however was when … started talking about how we should start viewing the NHS with the same enthusiasm many people follow football with scrubs with their favourite surgeon’s names on the back, work managers going post-surgery debriefs and screening operations in the pubs! His plethora of jokes were wonderfully clever and hilarious which made for a very entertaining set.
The next performer to grace the stage was the wonderful Paul Hilleard who was a lot more low-energy than the other performers. One of the funniest moments of Paul’s set saw him talk about how he was brought up on WWE wrestling (which we were lucky enough to see in Cardiff and you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2022/09/04/wwe-clash-at-the-castle-experience-review/) and hardcore porn. He talked about how he spent the majority of his younger years wanting to be The Rock but ended up being more like the referee which had the audience howling. Throughout his set, there was a running punchline about the fact that the Gonk shop had managed to outline many popular brands. For those who are not familiar with these products, Gonks are miniature stout, bearded gnome-like figurines usually with oversized hats and there is a shop near me that exclusively sells these figures. The global lockdowns sadly annihilated many small businesses but this very eccentric and unique shop had managed to outlast the likes of Top Shop, Debenhams, Oak Furnitureland etc. As an iconic store in the local area, the Welsh crowd found this section of his act particularly hilarious!
It was only recently that I attended my first ever burlesque performance (which you can read more about at https://rhysreviews.com/2023/11/19/del-lightful-debuts-performance-review/ and before this event I had no idea what burlesque actually was. However, Miss Goldie Luxe broadened my mind even more as she showcased another perspective towards the art form of burlesque. Rather than you typical sultry tease, Miss Goldie Luxe decided to go for a much more comedic style of burlesque which was equal parts hilarious and equal parts carefully thought out. I thought that the unusual hawk mascot rushing the stage would be the only animal-based performance we would have this evening but Miss Goldie Luxe decided the grace the stage engulfed by a shark costume. The number itself saw the performer escape from the jaws of the shark (in a sensual way might I add) only to reveal a bikini as if dressed as swimmer who had been attacked. One of the highlights of the routine saw Miss Goldie Luxe playfully remove her gloves as a handful of rose danced into the air which looked absolutely amazing! This ‘reverse shark attack’ routine had a clear and easy-to-follow narrative with costumes that fitted the story flawlessly which is something I personally always enjoy additionally the sight of a shark dancing around the stage had the audience in hysterics!
Overall, Cowboys comedy was a night of fabulous comedy that focussed on local and relatable topics which made for a very enjoyable evening. Each performer was distinctively unique with a fabulous inclusion of burlesque at the end of the show. The entire room was decked with western-inspired decoration and Jose started the evening with some like dancing but the rest of the night seemed to stray from this theme. I still do not fully understand the need for the angry hawk or its purpose but apart from this full of amazing entertainment. I would rate this evening 4.5 stars out of 5!
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