Just over three months ago we were invited to our first ever Cowboys comedy show (which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2023/12/03/cowboys-comedy-event-review/) which saw the dance floor of revolution Cardiff miraculously transformed into a unique Wild West saloon. This time Jose and the team had yet again ensured that every inch of the performance space paid homage to the Wild West with a bank, cacti, wanted posters, cowboy boot bunting and vintage signs around the venue. Jose Fortuna not only organised and hosted the entire event (ensuring the audience stayed excited for each and every act) but also treated the audience to a bit of country dancing to open the show as well as facilitating a raffle to win a Cowboys comedy branded cowboy hat. It is very clear that Jose Fortuna was clearly the standard-bearer for the Wild West theme and his opening of the show helped to establish this influence right at the beginning. The lineup of the March show contained a lot of massive personalities and characters but I do think that we could embed more of the cowboy theme into each performance to help create an even more immersive experience for the audience! In my initial review of the event, I talked about the unusual inclusion of an eagle that, after a spectacular light show, randomly sprinted onto the stage never to be seen again! I have to be honest I still don’t fully understand the purpose or contribution of this reoccurring character to the show but I do have to say that it did make me laugh every time they were on the stage! The storyline of the night was that the eagle was an aspiring comedian who wanted to share a joke with the audience but when the time finally came the lights cut out marking the show was over. The excitement was carefully built throughout the evening only to leave the audience disappointed as the supposed time limit had stopped them from hearing a joke they had waited for all night which I thought was absolutely perfectly performed!
The first stand-up performer to grace the stage was the unique Welsh Jesus who, as the name suggests, performed dressed as the divine song but with an intense Welsh accent. On top of this new layer of the holy son, this character also started the performance with a very grumpy personality (complete with a collection of strong language being used) which was so ridiculously over the top that it made the audience howl with laughter every single time! It was extremely clear that this performer had carefully thought about each detail of their performance which made for a very entertaining and cohesive viewing experience for the audience! This act brought a black notebook onto the stage which obviously was used to remind them of the next cues but also hinted at how preachers deliver sermons which made sense due to the religious aspect of the act itself. In the later part of the performance, we also saw Welsh Jesus bust out an acoustic guitar to deliver some hilarious songs with the instrument itself being synonyms with church services all around the world.
The next act was the wonderful Caprirlla Monique. They had carefully constructed a set that talked about how unique origins of their name (and an adventure of trying to find meaning in something that was ultimately meaningless), previous love affairs turned stalking obsessions and tattoos which made for a unique perspective into the performer’s life. Just like Welsh Jesus .. also treated the audience to a series of original songs while accompanying themselves on the guitar. A highlight of this performance for us was the amazing crowd work bantering with a specific member of the audience who appeared to perfectly relate to many of the punchlines the performer had set up. At one point in the routine, said audience member was being particularly unruly which did cause Capriella to lose her place in her original song. I know if it was me on that stage stumbling due to an audience member the this would have thrown me off for the rest of my set but this performers simply shrugged it off and jumped straight back in showcase immense talent and professionalism that I’m not sure we could have done!
The third performer of the evening walked onto the stage mean mugging the audience which gave the initial impression that he would be yet another grumpy comedian but this could not have been more wrong! At this point in the show, we had watched some lone dancing, eccentric character-based comedy and musical comedy so it was nice to see a performer strip back the theatrics to showcase some class stand-up comedy. Despite not having any of these gimmicks, Sul was able to keep the audience engaged and entertained throughout with the use of his personality alone. The energetic and charismatic Sul Jones covered a range of mature topics including masturbation and mental health which meant that it was clearly a set for an older audience but his unique perspective on these topics had the audience in hysterics throughout. I thought that it was very clever for Sul to acknowledge his birthmark throughout his set as it was naturally something the audience noticed as soon as he stepped onto the stage. Talking about it meant that the audience felt more at ease but it was also tied flawlessly into his routine about living with relatives but also enjoying some personal time.
Similar to our first experience of Cowboys comedy, the entire show came to an end with a burlesque performance. The routine started with Oola strutting through the audience dressed as the king of Rock and Roll Elvis! Donning a sparkly version of the iconic white jumpsuit, Oola Pearl owned every inch of the audience area and stage while showcasing a plethora of iconic Elvis-based choreography. This outfit was then sensually peeled off the reveal a burlesque-infused vegas showgirl outfit complete with feathers and tassels. It was only six months ago we saw our first ever burlesque show (which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2023/12/10/festive-frolics-production-review/) and since then we have been absolutely obsessed with the art from! One of the highlights of Oorla’s routine and something we have never seen before from a burlesque performer is the use of both nipple and bum tassels! They announced a number to the audience and were able to selectively control the corresponding number of tassels which was amazing to watch. Being able to control two sets of tassels on two distant parts of the body showed an immense amount of talent!
Overall, our second experience of Cowboys comedy was thematic heavy (although I wish some more of the acts would have embraced the theme a bit more) evening of stand up which showcased a variety of comedy performances and a singular burlesque performer. I would rate this evening 4 out of 5 stars!
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