Review: COCKFOSTERS, Turbine Theatre

Photo credit: Marshall Stay

If you’re looking for an evening of silliness and fun, then Tom Woffenden and Hamish Clayton’s Cockfosters will not disappoint. Utilising the layout of the Turbine Theatre to its full potential, the walkway to the stage is now an underground station complete with a tube conductor and guitar playing busker. Copies of The Metro on our seats were also a nice touch, and immediately the audience were hit with a unanimous sense of familiarity. We’ve all been here before, most of us just hours ago on the way to see the performance that evening.

The plot is simple; Tori (Beth Lilly) and James (Sam Rees-Baylis) strike up a conversation whilst riding the tube all the way to the end of the line at Cockfosters, but their meet-cute is consistently derailed by an array of chaotic characters along the way. The show plays on the stereotypical experiences we have all encountered on the tube at some point in time; running into an ex, being accosted by a drunken hen-do or navigating a crowd of unruly football fans on their way back from an Arsenal game, to name just a few. It’s a depiction of your average commute, except for the musical numbers, a game show and flashbacks to a lonely trip to Venice.

The cast do a fantastic job of embodying a range of roles, all with impeccable comedic timing and seamless transitions. They work well as an ensemble, whilst also giving each other their own time to shine as they interchangeably take lead roles within scenes. The stand-out performer for us is Harry Bradley, who absolutely steals the show with his spectacular characterisations which are hilarious every time.

Where the show slightly misses the mark is its reliance on slapstick sketches, which struggle to move the plot forward and at times, fall a little flat. There are plenty of laughs to be had, but trying to keep up with the carousel of exaggerated skits can leave an audience feeling a little lost and suffering from comedy fatigue.

What the show may lack in coherence, it does make up for in gusto, and its clear that the cast are enjoying themselves on stage, as they enthusiastically hurl themselves through a fast-paced 60 minute ride.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Chess Hayden

Cockfosters plays at The Turbine Theatre until 31 August, with further info here.