Cowbois, now running at the Royal Court is a West End transfer of a new RSC play which played to great acclaim in Stratford.
The first half, set in a small Western town where the men are long since departed to the gold rush, bristles with tension and has strong vibes of the suspicion of plays like The Crucible. Delivering this with great comic moments and strong Western touches makes this a strong start. The exploration of gender and gender issues is sympathetically explored. Had the play stopped around 10 minutes before the interval, I would regard it as a triumph.
Very strong sensual scenes towards the end of Act 1 are mesmerisingly played by Vinnie Heaven and Sophie Melville but the biological magic jarred with me. It did not seem necessary to progress the story and took me into a position of disbelief which made it harder to enjoy other elements of the story.
The second half felt like a different play by a different author in a different genre. All the gentle, nuanced sympathy of the first half was gone and some elements of it such as LJ Parkinson’s bandit seemed almost like a farcical pantomime.
Perhaps author and co-director Charlie Josephine was deliberate in this jarring change but it did not sit easily for me.
Have others seen Cowbois? What were your thoughts?
Red Bus Londinium Life 
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