The Royal Shakespeare Company has today released first-look character portraits from its upcoming production of Cowbois by Charlie Josephine.
Running in the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon between 14 October – 18 November 2023, the production is co-directed by Charlie Josephine (they/he) and Sean Holmes (he/him).
Pictured are Vinnie Heaven (they/them) as trans-masc cowboy Jack Cannon and Sophie Melville (she/her) as Miss Lillian. Both actors will make their debut with the RSC this Autumn.
Vinnie Heaven is an actor and writer. Their acting credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Misfortune of the English (Orange Tree Theatre) and, on screen, The Nevers (HBO). Their writing credits include FAUN and She’s A Good Boy.
Sophie Melville’s credits include Sorter (Swansea Grand), Iphigenia in Splott (Lyric Hammersmith, National Theatre, 59E59 New York, Sherman Theatre), The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare’s Globe), Mum (Soho Theatre), Under Milk Wood (Theatre Clwyd), The Pact and Call The Midwife (BBC). She will soon be seen starring in James Graham’s upcoming TV series The Way for BBC One which has been directed by Michael Sheen.
The full cast comprises: Bridgette Amofah (she/her) plays Mary; Lee Braithwaite (they/them) plays Lucy/Lou; Shaun Dingwall (he/him) plays Frank/Tommy; Michael Elcock (he/him) plays George; Colm Gormley (he/him) plays John; Vinnie Heaven (they/them) plays Jack; Paul Hunter (he/him) plays Sheriff Roger Jones; Lucy McCormick (she/her) plays Jayne; Sophie Melville (she/her) plays Miss Lillian; Julian Moore-Cook (he/him) plays James; Emma Pallant (she/her) plays Sally-Ann; and LJ Parkinson (they/them) plays Charley Parkhurst. The role of Kid will be shared by Robert Addi (he/him), Aiden Cole (he/him) and Alastair Ngwenya (he/him).
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, a trans masc cowboy, swaggers up to the town’s saloon, inspiring a gender revolution.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
