Theatre / alma tavern theatre
Review: Emotional Cowboy, Alma Tavern Theatre – “Self-indulgent in the best way”
Lights up, a video begins on the screen above an empty stage, cue Florence and the Machine’s Dog Days Are Over. In a style reminiscent of a Saturday night, primetime, entertainment show’s intro following the host through the likes of Media City.
Except we’re running through the streets of Clifton, before eventually finding ourselves in the dressing room of the Alma Tavern and with our lead for the night: Leo Hincks, the Emotional Cowboy. Fully embodying the star he wishes to be.
During this 50-minute show we’re taken along the journey of student comedian Leo, as he figures out where to take his routine next and how to create the perfect ending.
is needed now More than ever
The comedian tries to reconcile hoe he seems himself with what others see in him
Along his travels we’re whisked through the nightmares, dreams and notes app of a baby-faced twenty-year-old grappling with the difficulty of growing and figuring out who you are and how you fit into the world at large.
As we charge full speed into the crevices of Leo’s head, we buckle in as he descends deep into his emotional turmoil. His moist and matted head is clawed back to reveal beads of sweat shimmering in the bright, full lights, as the audience stares back at him.
Fully gripped in a meltdown
The entire play consists of Leo leaning heavily into a caricature of himself, with references to pop culture and Gen Z stereotypes that act as superficial markers for young adults of that generation.
“Will we be giving Nobel prizes for TikToks soon?” he asks. “Will we be bad-mouthing Harry Styles as he leads the country as prime minister?”
He flits between extreme emotions, commanding each with firm control, like a drama school student acting like their life depended on it.
He’s aware of the cliches and rather than avoiding them, he feels his way through them, embracing them. It is self-indulgent in the best way.
Coyly swaddling himself in the stage curtain as he asks the audience: “Do you want to hear a monologue?”
Cue some outfit changes, a tasselled jacket is removed, glasses on and a cigarette in hand, signalling the role changes. Teasing us with samples of his catalogue of characters.
“This is satire,” he tells us.
A ‘character actor’
By the end the Chortle award finalist realises he can’t transform himself from the outside in, as he literally faces off against himself in the ultimate identity crisis breaking point.
We are but bit players in the world of Leo Hincks, the very emotional cowboy.
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All photos: Evanthe Gee
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