Review: Cockfosters at The Turbine Theatre

Friday, 12th January 2024 at The Turbine Theatre

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Reviewer: Charlotte Dawes

Every Londoner has their own stories of the weird and wonderful things they have seen take place on the tube. Cockfosters creates a melting pot of those scenarios in a laugh-out-loud 60 minutes, which is amazingly shorter than the journey depicted in the show (Heathrow to Cockfosters via Piccadilly Line) would take on a good day.  

We meet Tori (Beth Lilly) and James (Saul Boyer) as they violate the unwritten London Underground rule by striking up conversation as they make their journeys from Heathrow airport. James is heartbroken as he returns from what was meant to be his honeymoon in Venice, while Tori has spent a month in Mexico on a yoga retreat amid her quarter-life crisis.  

While Tori and James become acquainted, they encounter the unique characters we are accustomed to on the tube. Buskers, noisy football supporters, and loud tourists enter one station and leave the next, which helps with the pacing of the show. Charlie Keable is repeatedly a scene stealer with his stellar characterization of each character he played; his “Train Conductor” creates laughs before he has even said a word. Kit Lloyd’s “Grim Reaper” garners the biggest laugh, but it is his role as Richard, James’ obnoxious nonsense-talking “friend” that sees his best performance.

There are some eccentric aspects to the show, including the serenading of a cardboard cutout of Tina Fey, which feels random, if not a bit jarring, but the overall plot, written by Tom Woffenden and Hamish Clayton, feels almost improv in nature, which is a testament to the clever writing. The actors are clearly enjoying themselves on stage, which adds to the enjoyment for the audience.

Beyond the comedy, Cockfosters offers its audiences a London Underground history lesson via an audience participation tube quiz. Who knew the Victoria Line was almost called the Viking Line? Elsewhere, Ed Bowles’ rendition of a tube station song, listing every tube station in the network, is a catchy way to get them memorised. 

Directed by Hamish Clayton, Cockfosters is a brilliant show with a lot of heart. It certainly makes for an interesting journey home on the tube!

Cockfosters is at The Turbine Theatre until January 20th 2024 – more information and tickets can be found here.