Cowbois

by Charlie Josephine

In a sleepy town in the Wild West, the women drift through their days like tumbleweed. Their husbands, swept up in the goldrush, have been missing for almost a year and show no sign of returning. In fact, the town is almost cut off from outsiders entirely, with only one drunken sheriff for protection. That is until handsome bandit Jack Cannon swaggers up to the town's saloon, looking for a place to hide from the bounty hunters on his tail. Armed with whiskey and a wink, and a gun by their side for good measure, Jack's explosive arrival inspires a gender revolution, and starts a fire under the petticoat of every one of the town's repressed inhabitants. The production originally premiered at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, presented by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Publishing in conjunction with the run at the RSC's Swan Theatre opening on 14th October.

Genres: Plays, LGBT

151 pages, Paperback

Published October 10, 2023

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

the best show I have ever seen and the best script I have ever read - I loved cowbois

[Ana Moreno Amaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good! It was nice to read a play, it had been a while

[Bocito · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and quick read! Would have loved to see the play to it. Anyone wants to bring it to Berlin please?

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much as they did with their breakout hit I, JOAN, I like the idea behind what non-binary trans playwright Josephine does in subverting issues of sexuality and gender in genre conventions (in the former, historical drama, and here with the Western) - it's the execution that always leaves me ... lacking. At a bloated 151 pages, this was in dire need of judicious pruning - they just make the same point over and over and over again. It's a good one - but I heard you the first time.

My other issue - which would have been ameliorated in seeing it performed so I could focus on the actors to help me out - but they have characters named James, John and Jack (and Jayne) - and I constantly had to refer to the character listings to remind myself who was who. PS: odd coincidence - the hero's name here is Jack Cannon, which was the name of a well-respected Hollywood actor (who went by JD Cannon) - and was my mum's first beau!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nJto...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1-aA...
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/202...
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/202...

[Cora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found myself to enjoy it a lot more than I expected, I haven't interacted with westerns much because it wasn't something I thought id enjoy, but I'm glad to know that I do. I did find it to be quite long, but that may be because I was reading it.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joyous liberating retelling of the western with queer trans vibes. Witty, seductive, defiant and true. Longing to see this in the Theatre, it must sizzle on the stage.

[Isaura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting writing, a bit of a feverdream with some of the story choices but I love the modernity of this 1800s centured play. I think I would have enjoyed this more live.

[Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure queer joy & delight, I couldn’t stop smiling

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saw at the Royal Court a while ago and wanted to reread while doing a show to keep me chilled out. Such a lovely ultimately joyful play it reminded me of the blast I had while watching it 😎✌🏼🙂‍↕️