Midnight Cowboy Radio

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And the three men I admire most

The Father, Son and the Holy Ghost

They caught the last train for the coast”

— Don McLean, “American Pie”



With its great, poppy chorus, Don McLean’s exceptionally successful song “American Pie” remains catchy and fun more than 40 years after its release, but what really makes the track so durable is the undercurrent of seriousness in its lyrics, a feeling of sadness that the United States has seen the best of its days and that troubles lie ahead. It’s thus fitting that the song starts, ends and runs throughout Ally Ibach’s exciting new work, Midnight Cowboy Radio, a play that seems like a comedy at its outset but eventually reveals a deep concern for the darker and unsettling problems immediately facing the country.

Midnight Cowboy Radio owes an obvious tip of its brim to Eric Bogosian’s Pulitzer-nominated 1987 drama Talk Radio, but beyond the setting, the plays differ vastly. Whereas Talk Radio centers on Barry Champlain, a scabrous Jewish shock-jock host who rages in despair at the state of the country and ends up being assassinated by one of his deeply disturbed listeners, Midnight Cowboy Radio focuses on Radio Cowgirl, a big-hearted Christian advice giver based in Kentucky who performs for Instagram Live during her off-air moments to keep the positive affirmations coming.

The sincere and optimistic counsel Radio Cowgirl gives her listeners ranges from sweetly misguided to downright unhelpful. When a 12-year-old listener named Sarah calls and tells Radio Cowgirl that she’s scared to return to school because of school shooters, Radio Cowgirl finds herself unexpectedly flustered. Not wanting to anger any of her faithful listeners, she gaslights the child.

RADIO COWGIRL: Yes, of course, the new has been crazy now, hasn’t it? Well, I still think you’re gonna’ be all right. You have just got to always be kind to everyone, and that’s the best way to… protect yourself. Okay?

SARAH: Yeah, okay.

RADIO COWGIRL: Okayyyy. Good night now, gotta get to bed so you can be up bright and early for school in the morning.

But all is still not well at midnight. Radio Cowgirl’s relentless positivity provides a mask for her to hide her own significant problems, and Ibach’s gradual transformation from wholesome radio host to frightened wife is haunting, especially as it sinks in that she has passively contributed to her difficult situation by not participating politically. “I personally have never voted, because I don’t believe in all that nonsense.”

Inactions, like actions, have consequences, Radio Cowgirl learns, though for her this lesson might possibly be arriving too late.

Ibach and director Patricia Runcie-Rice have created an exciting new work that speaks to the moment while also being wildly entertaining. And I hope their show gets another go. Midnight Cowboy Radio deserves a better space than what theSpace provided and would also likely benefit from a less abrupt ending. Fortunately, the show can afford to add some minutes to its running time; it’s the rare play I’ve seen at this year’s Edinburgh Festival that could actually benefit from being slightly longer. Like Don McLean’s eight-and-a-half-minute classic song, Midnight Cowboy Radio has something to say and merits the time it needs to say it.

Published September 7, 2024 by Randall David Coo

“Ally Ibach’s *Midnight Cowboy Radio* is a whirlwind of manic joy, bursting through the airwaves like a confetti cannon of life advice. Her energy is infectious. Under Patricia Runcie-Rice’s direction, the show blends wild enthusiasm with deep introspection. ‘Change begins with a spark of madness in the heart of true art.’
Equal parts excitement and enlightenment.

A righteous talk radio show host sticks it to all those ‘liberal saps’ while behind the scenes she does the exact opposite in this dark Kentucky Fried Comedy/drama.

I spoke with Ally Ibach, a smart, energetic performer with a passion for tough topics and theatrical bite.
My inevitable question was whether the play was inspired by Eric Bogosian’s, Talk Radio? And no, not so. Of course.
The unhinged, late night talk show is such a theatrical format, the shock-jock let loose with only the voice and a mic to hammer home the hate for those ad revenue bucks. Artists arrive in similar places from different paths.

This show was born of the controversy over the Roe Vs Wade abortion ruling. It’s all very well supporting such rulings, but if you’re over 35 and don’t have at least ten kids, then you’re taking the life somewhere along the line (hate bait US stand up comic / minute man, Ben Shapiro and his ilk…check thy morality).

….By the way, I asked Ally for her Fringe fave recommendation: ‘I’m Almost There’ at Summerhall…

Now back to MIDNIGHT COWBOY RADIO… The theatrical solo drama show can often take us further than the stand ups can - unable to stray too far from their persona, which is why I always find the solo show with one foot in theatre ultimately more rewarding.
If you want a dynamic, challenging, dark and witty show, told with fearless panache, then get down to theSPACEuk , Surgeon’s Hall and tune into MIDNIGHT COWBOY RADIO.

A thought provoking and powerful piece of theatre. Go see it!

This show has it all. Brilliant performance. Go see.

Gorgeous show, immediately settles you into that uniquely cosy atmosphere of listening to after hours radio, but you're in for so much more. Ibach's energy is the perfect level of hyper and distracted and trying her best, and the set design is everything I want in a set design.