A Trip on this Piccadilly Line is a Must
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‘Cockfosters’ by Tom Woffenden and Hamish Clayton has already attracted great reviews from earlier runs, so I was intrigued to get on board with James and Tori as they journey the 24 stops from Heathrow to Cockfosters at the other end of the line, writes Michael Holland
The commuter-related laughs begin when you are given a mock-up of a well-known giveaway paper – Retro – which doubles as the programme. In the auditorium, people in hi-vis shout through megaphones about minding the doors and the train leaving at 7pm.
A simple but very effective set of a tube carriage frames the action, which is a blend of very good visual gags, song, dance and dialogue, starting with a passenger boarding and immediately taking off his sweaty, stinking socks to give them an airing.
Tori(Beth Lilly) and Jame(James Rees-Baylis) are strangers caught up in this mélange of commuters, tourists, beggars, buskers, hen parties and the usual boring drunks.
In between stops the pair get to know each other. Tori has ‘trains in her veins’ so we get a potted history of the Underground that takes in why it went underground, Harry Beck, the designer of the iconic tube map, and other factoids to punctuate the gags and make this journey one of information and hilarity.
Ruby Tuby embarks and gives a song made up from every station name; American tourists can’t understand why they are advised to get a train ‘heading south on the Northern Line’; the ads for vitamins get a going over as do the Poems on the Underground series, with a Shakespeare appearing to give us a few lines of a sonnet.
Tori tells of a ‘yoga and jäger’ holiday, while poor James is constantly moaning and mourning his freshly ended relationship and his freshly cancelled stag do and wedding. We wonder if their chemicals are reacting and attracting…
At one point there is a Tube Quiz for the audience to participate in(There is actually a station that contains all the vowels!), and a rap battle between North, South East and West London that was great for eliciting boos and cheers from various sections in the crowd.
Cockfosters delights us with every kind of tube train event that annoys: the homeless person looking for enough small change to get a bed that night or something hot to eat; the passenger who plays loud music, the others who want to strike up a conversation; the cougher and the sneezer.
A gang of Gooners get on and sing their anti-Tottenham song, much to my Spurs-loving annoyance, but there is a comeuppance that appeases me. The jokes come fast and don’t always reach their destination, but with so many you know a good one will be along soon.
Of course, it is James and Tori who take most of the limelight but my hat gets thrown in the air for Jimmy Bryant, Liam Horrigan, Natasha Vasandani and Emily Waters for their multi-tasking and multi-skilling as everybody else who gets on board this train.
The play ends after a magical 70 minute journey and Tori and James have reached the end of the line. I wanted a return ticket.
Cockfosters is very clever. It is very real. It is a paean to our Underground system and I did not want the journey to end. But when this one did it ended with a great cheer.
Bravo!
Southwark Playhouse, Borough, 77-85 Newington Causeway, London, SE1 6BD until 17th May.
Booking and Full Details: www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/
