Review: Cockfosters, Turbine Theatre

The Turbine Theatre is one of the many London’s venues that sits under railway arches, so has to contend with the rumbling of the city’s transport system above. However, this is one of the few shows where you almost wish for an even more continuous rumble, as it’s entirely set on a Piccadilly Line train. It’s a concept that especially appeals, being the partner of a real-life Piccadilly Line worker! I was looking forward to be able to head home full of Piccadilly puns to share. I wasn’t disappointed.

Cockfosters tells the tale of two strangers who meet on the Piccadilly Line at Heathrow and travel its full line to Cockfosters together, as they both coincidentally seem to live there. Whilst on this 1 hour 30-minute journey, squeezed into a 60 minute show, they encounter lots of tube passenger cliches. Whether it be a hen party drunkenly turning the tube into another spot on their booze-fuelled celebrations, football fans loudly chanting about their team, or that one friend you pray not to bump into, who you’re then stuck with for the rest of the journey together. And it’s through these changing passengers that Cockfosters captures that true London experience; of being trapped in a tin can with a bunch of strangers, and all the joys, frustrations and downright bizarreness this can result in. 

Whilst the personal stories of the two leads, played with warmth and charm by Beth Lilly and Saul Boyer, are interesting to see unfold, it’s the skits and sketches about the tube that really are the stars of the show. A particular highlight is when the cast bring to life adverts we see on the tube, from Tess Daly telling us to take vitamins to the perfect cure for baldness. And the way they bring up the Labyrinth art that can be seen across the network is a stroke of genius. Although, it has to be said, the way they talk about the “See it. Say it. Sorted” announcements feels slightly disturbing. It’s a show for Londoner’s, or at least people that travel around on the tube enough to recognise these little quirks. 

The roars of laughter throughout the audience are testament to how spot on the writing of Tom Woffenden and Hamish Clayton is. Despite having named writers, the show really does feel like an improv performance, with the cast testing each other and pushing their limits. It’s chaotic and there’s corpsing, and occasionally it has the feel of a first night of an improv session, with jokes that don’t land quite as well as others, but on the whole you’re along for the ride with giggles throughout.

The set is simple yet effective in its suggestion that we’re on a slightly cramped and dusty tube carriage, with the announcements transporting us to the Piccadilly Line in a heartbeat. Continuing the improv vibe, the props are ingenious and at times ridiculous. I’ll leave you to head to the show to find out why there’s a cardboard cutout of Tina Fey. 

Any Londoner will tell you their best “this one time on the tube” story, and this show taps into that mentality perfectly. We’re obviously a room full of regular tube users as we roar with laughter together in both recognition and horror. It’s what bonds this city, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. So, thank you to Woffenden and Clayton for reminding us just how much we love to hate our transport system. Safe to say that I rushed home to shout “trains in your veins” to my TFL worker partner.

Written by Tom Woffenden and Hamish Clayton
Director Hamish Clayton
Produced by Hamish Clayton, Tom Woffenden and Ana Emdin

Cockfosters is on at The Turbine Theatre until 20 January 2024. Further information and bookings can be found here.