“Like a rock-and-roll Jesus with a cowboy mouth." The American Dream, success, power and money all rolled into the neat little package of a 1970s Rock star.
Cowboy Mouth is a thinly veiled autobiography written by Sam Shepard in 1971 in the midst of his turbulent relationship with Patti Smith. Having left his wife and child Shepard has changed the story, making himself the kidnapped victim of Cavale.
Cavale herself is another self-inflicted victim. Living in squalor, the pair fight, make-up and imagine their way into fantasy to escape the dreary reality of life.
Cowboy Mouth is the latest production from Exhibit A Theatre (Eight, Suburbia) and is another incredible piece chosen by the independent theatre company. Exhibit A founders Belinda Misevski and Benjamin Rigby shine beneath the filth of their hotel room as Cavale and Slim. The company has a knack for picking hidden gems of theatre and performing them with such openness you forget you are watching a play, and feel more like a voyeur peering in on a couple’s most intimate moments.
Cavale is mad, obsessed with death, suicide and her pet (dead) bird Raymond. Slim is chasing a dream, the ultimate dream, and between them they make these dreams and fantasy’s come to life.
Through the help of their friend The Lobster Man (Nick Kleindienst) the pair evoke their every fear, desire and whim. Misevski and Rigby pulse with a nervous energy, that keeps the audience transfixed as they head towards an inevitable tragic ending.
Cowboy Mouth is dark, unsettling and completely magnificent. Both humorous and poignant, melancholic and uplifting, Misevski and Rigby take the audience on a rollercoaster ride of emotions.
Exhibit A Theatre have created another exceptional piece of art with Cowboy Mouth, they are truly the next rock stars of the Melbourne theatre industry.
Exhibit A Theatre presents
Cowboy Mouth
by Sam Shepard and Patti Smith
Directed by Emily O’Brien Brown
Venue: Goodtime Studios, Basement 746 Swanston St, Carlton
Dates: 12 – 28 April, 2013
Tickets: $18 – 23
Bookings: www.trybooking.com
