Just before Christmas, I was invited to my first ever Cowboys Comedy event (which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2023/12/03/cowboys-comedy-event-review/) which was hosted by the wonderfully charismatic Jose Fortuna. I personally think it must be incredibly difficult to organise and host a re-occurring event as you need to make sure the shows are all connected somehow but also are not too similar as people will easily become bored with the same thing over and over again. What is particularly clever about this iteration of the Cowboys Comedy series is that they have found that line of keeping the audience excited while also creating a consistent structure to all their event. This event began with Jose delivering his classic dance routine to open the show which really helped to establish the county theme but also got the audience excited with a unique opening to this comedy show. During the opening sequence, we were also treated to an appearance but the eccentric Eagle who at first I did not understand but have very quickly developed an affinity for! I have to say that the opening sequence of this iteration of Cowboys Comedy was one of the best openings to a comedy show I have seen in a very long time! Jose delivered a hilarious routine of “classic comedy host bits” where he went into the audience to do a routine that laughed at the usual patter comedians have with the audience. This flawlessly transitioned into a section of the show where an audience member was brought onto the stage to do a very simple quiz to win one million cowboy dollars. After answering the question of “What is the capital of Wales?”, the lucky audience member was awarded the check and the press in attendance flooded the stage to take pictures of the winning person. It was then revealed that the audience member had in fact got the question wrong which led to a long-running joke throughout the rest of the evening. The second act of the show saw another member brought onto the stage as a stolen bag of cash was found under their seat and cowboys do not deal well with outlaws! This more theatrical opening worked really well and got the audience excited to see the rest of the acts while also fitting in with the cowboy theme of the event.
The first performance to grace the stage was the incredibly talented Mel Owens who delivered an extremely relatable and incredibly hilarious routine about their life experiences. What I thought was particularly clever about this routine was the fact that each of the stories effortlessly transitioned into each other which created a very easy-to-follow through-line to their routine that the audience could easily track. She started by talking about her dating experiences and how the only word to describe the bed of men under twenty-six is crunchy and how they tend to only have a singular pillow which is never effective enough for sleeping on. I do have to say that Mel if you are reading this, despite your instance I am in fact under twenty-six in fact I am only turning twenty-five at the end of this month! This then transitioned into a hilarious story about an interaction with a racist neighbour who thought it would appropriate to shout “holla” and bow (which is squashing together two cultures that Mel is not a part of) which was absolutely hilarious! The routine came to an end with Mel talking about clothing and declaring that she does not get her bras at Victoria’s Secret but instead, they are industrial strength ones from Screw-fix. I have talked at length about the issues of clothes sizing in stores and the damage it can do to people (you can read our interview with Cadi about this very issue at https://cadicinnamon1.wixsite.com/letsbecandid/post/male-body-image and so it was fantastic to see a comedian also highlighting this issue!
I think I personally made the mistake of thinking that cowboys comedy is exclusive for stand-comedians but instead, it aims to showcase the true spectrum of comedy. I have also talked in previous reviews about how before attending my first ever Del Fflurs production (which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2023/11/19/del-lightful-debuts-performance-review/) I had a very narrow view of what burlesque really is. There is no better amplification of the true spectrum of both comedy and burlesque than the incredible Anna Toxin (who we most recently saw at the latest Del Fflur’s show which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2024/04/27/del-lightful-debuts-3-production-review/) who showcased her wonderfully eccentric dairy queen routine. She graced the stage in a cow onesie as a booming voice-over tells the tragic story of Daisy the dried-up cow. However, this number takes an exciting turn as Daisy is challenged to earn her money a different way and turns to a life of burlesque. Every single detail of this routine has been carefully crafted to not only be highly entertaining but also provide a cohesive viewing experience. We saw udder-centric fanny packs, cow prints 0, an oat milk shower and udder-fied bras throughout the routine as iconic tracks such as “Bitch I’m a cow”, “Milkshake” and “M.I.L.F (milk money)” is blasted throughout the venue. The over-the-top acting really helped the audience to get involved in the storyline and they absolutely erupted when Anna showcased her mesmerising burlesque talents. Despite being dressed as a cow and the tragic story, the most fantastic thing about this routine is how Anna showcases such an immense amount of confidence and dedication to this insane persona. This unique fusion of comedy and burlesque is so ridiculously eccentric/outlandish and doesn’t sound like it should work but after seeing this routine for the second time, I think I could watch it a million more times and still be highly entertained!
Sandwiched between the two more flamboyant performers of the evening was the equally eccentric but much more subdued Cave Lunch. He delivered a much more intense and almost grumpy performance style which contrasted beautifully with Anna’s performance prior. Cave delivered a hilarious routine all about mental health in the workplace where managers are only just picking up on the spectrum of issues working have been going through for years and the useless advice the higher-ups try to offer. As a teacher, I can totally relate to these useless mental health training sessions. I recently attended one of these sessions that advised mid-day walks (which is not suitable as the changeover from lessons are minutes apart), working out on either side of the school day, listening to music and meditating while in the next breath, managers talked about increasing workload/responsibilities. The routine came to an end with a brilliant sequence about unwarranted attention that women when walking the street. Cave talked about how women use a “don’t talk to me face” which people in the audience helped to demonstrate but he thinks a better alternative would be a pseudo-Quasimodo-inspired impression which he then used to interact with key audience members (ourselves included.) He then tried to purposefully demonstrate how he tried to use the male equivalent of an “I’m not a murderer face” used to make women feel safe however his “I’m not a murder” face is scarlet similar to his “I am a murderer face” which had the audience howling with laughter.
The final act of this interaction of Cowboys Comedy is none other than the incredible Carrie Sauce (who we actually interviewed on our YouTube channel which you can watch at https://youtu.be/Fc83Ti_ifmY?si=yrMYO_onjZ6NG2pW) What I thought was particularly clever about Carrie Sauce’s performance at this event is the fact that she clearly made a conscious effort to fit the cowboy theme being the only one (apart from Cowboy Jo) to really do so! Donning her best Wild West attire, Carrie decided to perform a medley of iconic country-inspired songs such as “This ain’t Texas” by Beyoncé, working 9 to 5 By Dolly Parton and “Man I Feel Like a Woman” by Shania Twain. As expected every single performance was vocally perfect with the more flamboyant country song encouraging the audience to sing along. For this event, Carrie had also developed a country accent throughout the routine hinting at her acting talents. Despite having seen Carrie dominate and eventually win the Kings Royal Variety show (which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2024/03/25/kings-final-production-review/) something we didn’t really realise going into this event was how funny Carrie Sauce truly is as she grabbed the mic to transition between her two tracks. She scattered in a wonderful selection of jokes (again showing an understating of the event) and a particular highlight for us was when Carrie delivered a series of hilarious roasts about us in particular which we thought were absolutely brilliant!
Overall, it seems like the creative team behind this iteration do Cowboys Comedy made a conscious effort to really step up the production value of the event and really double down on the cowboy theme established from the posters (and name.) Each comedian brought a different flavour of comedy to the show which made for a very exciting and highly entertaining evening with a wonderful area of hilarious jokes throughout. I would rate this event 5 out of 5 stars!
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