Cockfosters - Southwark Playhouse Borough

See it, say it, sorted

★★★★☆

Despite the bank holiday weekend and the swathe of engineering works occurring across London’s transport network, hit-comedy Cockfosters has made a timely return to the capital and it is scorchingly brilliant. Brimming with London-centric humour that is sure to tickle all the Big Smoke natives, this play is wickedly funny and all-round bonkers - I loved it.

Spanning the entire length of the Piccadilly Line from Heathrow to the titular station Cockfosters, Tom Woffenden and Hamish Clayton’s play sees recently single James meet backpacker Tori as they each return from holiday, setting out home from the airport. Along the way they encounter a plethora of weird and wonderful characters, many of whom give us an insight into the history and delights the tube has to offer. 

As previously stated this show is batshit and entirely unserious but in a delightful way. Sometimes theatre is there to challenge perception or to educate but here the assembled cast is here to simply entertain and they do so wonderfully. Woffenden and Clayton’s writing is relentless in pace, the play morphing into a structure more that of a sketch show as each station we stop at offers up new scenarios, characters and hijinks. The comedy is of course incredibly London-centric and excels within those parameters. A particular highlight amongst the precision observation comedy is a sequence in which the cast parodies the most common adverts seen in the tube carriages. Think Belgravia hair clinic, supplements for women and a brilliant rendition of A Winter’s Tale to poke fun at the poetry seen across the network - I was howling. 

The cast injects huge amounts of energy into the show with the multi-rolling ensemble doing the heavy comedic lifting as they shift between tube buskers, American tourists and Victorian engineers during the 70-minute runtime (just shy of the 88 minutes it takes to get the Piccadilly line end to end). Each offer channelled but chaotic effervescence in the rotating roles, each thriving in their moments in the spotlight. Jimmy Bryant stands out as a fantastic comedic actor with his obnoxious and outlandish characters though Natasha Vasandani, Emily Waters and Liam Horrigan all shine within the play too. Leading the piece are Beth Lilly as Tori and Sam Rees-Baylis as James who do well as the young pair, each bringing heart and silliness in equal measure. 

With this play rattling through scenes and songs, not all the jokes quite land as desired, lost in the hubbub of everything else and more often than not the harsh language and swearing becomes a little overbearing and old. A more targeted use of this for comedic effect would do the play a lot of good. That being said, I found myself laughing out loud for much of the show. 

The set design from Gareth Rowntree is seriously impressive, capturing the inside of a tube carriage with surprising effect, even complete with an accurate display telling us which station we have just arrived at. It is versatile and when paired with the sound design it feels like we really are travelling beneath London. 

This show is a great treat for any Londoner as it toys with our love-hate relationship with our city’s underground transportation. 

Running until 17th May - Tickets