Cockfosters, Turbine Theatre Review
Written by Eleanor
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review.
Two strangers, James (Saul Boyer) and Victoria (Beth Lilly), meet on the Piccadilly line after flying back from their holidays; one with a broken heart and one in the midst of a quarter life crisis. During their multiple tube stops from Heathrow to Cockfosters they meet a range of ‘interesting’ people and get to know each other in this recognisable setting. This comedy show has a range of skits, songs and audience participation which all poke fun at the London Underground (the delays, the advertising, and the overcrowding) while also teaching you a little bit about it.
I have loved all of my trips to The Turbine Theatre, and this was no exception - it was also the first time that the sound of trains going overhead only impacted the atmosphere positively! The silly humour of this quaint show was right up my street. Although the overarching plot was very predictable, like any good tube journey you know where the endpoint will be, it remained compelling. There are possibly a couple of tweaks needed here and there, but I was laughing throughout at the crazy, strange and memorable cast of characters. I would certainly recommend this to any regular London travellers.
The overall plot of Cockfosters (written by Tom Woffenden and Hamish Clayton) was as fast paced as the tube itself. New characters entered at one tube stop and exited at the next, and the automated messages acted as a way to swiftly end songs or sketches. I enjoyed this format as confused American tourists, football fans, and a hen-do certainly could’ve overstayed their welcome. There were also flashback scenes giving the history of the tube and showing the Victorian experience when it first opened. This change of setting also helped to make what is a static set and a small cast consistently interesting. However, there were a couple of scenes such as the audience participation which slowed the momentum down. Even though Cockfosters is only 60 minutes long, perhaps this could have been replaced with another song. The sound throughout was fairly limited and a bit more background noise, such as someone listening to a song without headphones, would have helped at the beginning of the show as the crowd warmed up.
You could really tell that the cast were having genuine fun on stage. There were a couple of instances where I could sense that one actor was trying to make another corpse and that’s something I just love to see in live theatre. Kit Loyd was the absolute star for me as the rom-com stereotype obnoxious male friend, Richard. His streams of nonsense before every sentence were just fantastic. I also very much enjoyed his performance as a very angry woman on a hen-do. Charlie Keable was reminiscent of Basil Fawlty with his bouts of comical anger. He really was an excellent example of how far a funny face and a funny walk can get you, which was perfectly encapsulated in his train conductor character.
The humour throughout Cockfosters, as the name may suggest, isn’t exactly complex. Although it did not make it any less enjoyable, the comedy is childish and in some cases quite predictable. But I must admit the serenading of a cardboard cut-out of Tina Fay was a bit much!
Cockfosters is a very comic premise which, although sometimes daft, was very endearing. I found myself engaged by the growing relationship between Saul Boyer’s James and Beth Lilly’s Victoria and greatly enjoyed the everchanging ensemble of eccentric characters. It very much reminded me of some of the daydreaming I myself do when stuck on the tube. This farcical show makes for a great evening out and my tube ride home was made all the better for it.
Cockfosters is playing at The Turbine Theatre for a limited run from 13 - 31 August.
