Review by Markus Hamence – Virgins and Cowboys – Performance date: Sunday 08 March 2026. Holden Street Theatres, Adelaide, South Australia.
Welcome to the digital rodeo – where desire’s a glitch, purity’s a currency, and everyone’s one bad DM away from an existential crisis. Virgins and Cowboys is a chaotic, sexy-sad comedy where five lost souls scroll, swipe, and spiral through the burning wreckage of connection in the internet age. It’s part fever dream, part group chat meltdown: a fast-food love story for the attention economy. Strap in – cause the patriarchy’s on fire. Yeehaw baby!
Playwright Morgan Rose‘s darkly comedic social commentary is brought to life by the graduating actors of Flinders University Drama Centre, South Australia’s leading centre for actor and director training.
Let’s go…
At the 2026 Adelaide Fringe, Virgins and Cowboys barrels onto the stage like a piece of theatre that refuses to play it safe. Written by Morgan Rose and performed by an energetic cast from the Flinders University Drama Centre, the production dives straight into the confusing, chaotic terrain of modern relationships, where the search for connection collides with the strange theatre of the internet age.
The story centres on a young man, Sam, (Emma Gregory) drifting through life who suddenly finds himself entangled in online conversations with two women, Lane and Steph, (Anna Symonds and Star Thomas) who both happen to be virgins. What begins as awkward curiosity quickly spirals into something far more complicated, exposing insecurities, fantasies and the warped expectations that grow when people attempt to build intimacy through screens and avatars. The script is sharp, unapologetic and often brutally funny, poking at the absurdities of modern dating culture while revealing the vulnerability underneath.
“The script is sharp, unapologetic and often brutally funny, poking at the absurdities of modern dating culture…”
Markus Hamence
The cast of five, which also includes the honed talents of Jaxon O’Neill as Dale and Tom Horridge as Kieren, bring a fearless energy to the stage, shifting effortlessly between biting comedy and moments of uncomfortable honesty. Characters bounce between bravado and fragility, creating a world that feels both heightened and recognisably real. There is a restless momentum to the performances that mirrors the frantic pace of online communication – messages firing, identities shifting and emotions escalating faster than anyone can process them.
Director Anthony Nicola keeps the production lean and punchy, allowing the dialogue and performances to drive the experience. The staging cleverly reflects the fragmented nature of digital life, where conversations overlap and reality often feels blurred with projection and fantasy.
What gives Virgins and Cowboys its undeniable edge is its willingness to laugh at the awkward rituals of contemporary romance while asking bigger questions about identity, validation and the pressures young people face navigating intimacy in a hyper-connected world. It’s provocative, cheeky and occasionally confronting, but always compelling.
“It’s provocative, cheeky and occasionally confronting, but always compelling…”
Markus Hamence
Be aware there are moments the unsettle you perhaps, a ‘nose’ medical scene (I closed my eyes squeamishly, I’m soft haha), a tirade of ‘naughty’ words (meant to provoke of course) and misogyny. All of which aptly fit in the pieces story line.
At its best, the show captures exactly what Adelaide Fringe does so well – giving emerging voices a stage to explore bold ideas with humour, honesty and a touch of chaos. Virgins and Cowboys may be messy, but that’s entirely the point. In a world of curated profiles and filtered realities, this production strips everything back to the raw, uncomfortable truth.
Credit to the young and exploring actors with this confronting offering of theatre.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Virgins and Cowboys
Tuesday 03 March – Sunday 08 March 2026
The Arch at Holden Street Theatres
Tickets
