Captures the quiet chaos of middle-class suburban life with bite and booze – but at three hours long, even the politest house guest might start eyeing the door.Summary
Rating
Good
There’s something quietly magnetic about a cul-de-sac. The name itself suggests comfort, stillness, a touch of suburban smugness – but also a dead end. That tension is fertile ground for David Shopland’s new play at Omnibus Theatre, a ‘wine-soaked’ comedy-drama that seeks to peel back the polite smiles of middle-class neighbours to reveal the fraying nerves beneath. It’s familiar territory, but one that still holds promise – though here, you’ll need a little stamina.
Ruth (Shereen Roushbaiani) is bored and drifting: an out-of-work psychotherapist. Her husband Frank (Ellis J. Wells), also NHS, is passive-aggressive with a capital P. Into their gently toxic lounge wander two neighbours – pious Marie (Lucy Farrett) and timid Simon (Callum Patrick Hughes) – with a misplaced parcel, a stack of flyers for Sunday’s religious fete, and a bundle of suppressed feelings. Throw in a few bottles of sherry (afraid to say these characters are, yes, in their thirties) and cue a whole load of social awkwardness, emotional unravelling, and the slow reveal of personal traumas tucked under years of cul-de-sac cordiality.
Shopland, who writes and directs, starts in a strong place. The opening scenes are genuinely funny – full of brittle tension, clinking glasses and barbed one-liners. The actors handle the material with assurance: Roushbaiani makes Ruth brittle but likeable, Wells finds dry humour in Frank’s short temper, and Hughes brings wonderful comic timing as he nervously bounces about the space, his physical awkwardness heightening Simon’s anxious attempts to keep the peace.
But the play is long. At a full three hours including an interval, Cul-de-Sac stretches itself beyond what the material can comfortably bear. The second half leans heavily into confessional monologues, with each character unburdening themselves in turn – slowly. While heartfelt, the emotional beats feel overworked, and the dialogue occasionally tips into cliché, raising lots of open questions with even more open answers. With tighter editing and a keener eye for pace, the impact would be all the greater.
It’s easy to imagine a more focused two-hour (or less) version of this play – one that still explores grief, repression, marriage and suburban malaise, but with sharper contours and a plot that feels a little more linear from start to finish. As it stands, Cul-de-Sac has plenty going for it: Shopland’s cosy, convivial set, thoughtful performances (with thanks to Jahraine Lamb’s fun movement direction) and flashes of wit and warmth throughout. There’s real potential here; it just takes a little too long to come into view.
Written and directed by: David Shopland
Movement direction by: Jahraine Lamb
Dramaturgy by: Roann Hassani McCloskey
Assistant direction and intimacy co-ordination by: Lexie Woodroof
Technical/Lighting by: Luke John Emmett
Produced by: Fake Escape
Cul-de-Sac plays at Omnibus Theatre until Saturday 14 June
