After three consecutive sold-out runs, the smash-hit comedy Cockfosters returns to London for a limited three-week run at the Turbine Theatre. The story follows two strangers as they meet on the Piccadilly Line at Heathrow and travel across London on a journey that they'll never forget. We took the opportunity to speak to creators Hamish Clayton and Tom Woffenden to tell us more about the show.
Q) Before we begin, please could you introduce yourself and a little bit about your background in theatre?
Hamish: I'm a writer/director (and I suppose producer too!). I imagine like most people in the industry, I loved acting at school and was lucky to have lots of opportunities. I took Drama through to A Level, and continued with student theatre when I studied at University. I realised I was probably more suited to writing/directing whilst I was there - and then completed a MA in Theatre Directing at Mountview which was particularly useful in giving me some actual approaches in my directing. Since then, I've been freelancing as a writer and director and largely producing my own work too - on projects that have taken me around all the pub theatres in London, up to Edinburgh Fringe, Sheffield and onto larger venues such as Southwark Playhouse, Soho Theatre and the Turbine!
Tom: I've worked in TV and film for nearly a decade, from Hollywood to Borehamwood. I started off working on a Channel 4 cooking show, then just hopped along on BBC Radio, Big Brother and Gogglebox and then into full time roles in-house at drama companies making dramas for places like Paramount+ and Amazon. Writing is still a hobby, but Cockfosters has become like a second job and it's been an incredible job to have. It's amazing I've got to do it for so long!
Q) For those who are not aware, please could you give us a little background into what ‘Cockfosters’ is about?
Hamish: It's a truly madcap-mind-the-gap comedy about the London Underground. There's in-jokes for the 10m+ Londoners which have been connecting very well with audiences. It's such a daily part of our lives that I think it's very fertile ground for observational, and surreal, comedy. It's short, sharp, fast and funny.
Tom: It's a love letter to the tube. Something you rely on if you live in London!
Q) What inspired you to write this play?
Hamish: Tom had the initial idea, I believe when sat on the Piccadilly Line from Heathrow. The timing of a tube journey from one end to the other is pretty close to a full show length
- and there's a whole host of interesting characters you see regularly on the tube. The show takes it a step further, as our two central characters interact with them and each other over the duration of the journey. It's also great in showing a cross-section of our capital city: holidaymakers at Heathrow, wealthy at Knightsbridge, tourists at Leicester Square, football fans at Arsenal etc.
We met up for a drink and watched a show at a pub theatre. After the show, we sat down and wondered if we could make something a little more entertaining, funny and something which doesn't take itself too seriously. Tom told me about his idea, and we ended up writing most of it in a weekend together. That might explain some of the surreal madness.
Tom: I was travelling on the Piccadilly line one day and I thought that something set on the tube would be a really fun idea. The structure was there: start things off at one end of the Piccadilly line (Heathrow), finish at the other end (Cockfosters), and then fill in what could happen at each tube stop in between. And it felt like a play - and I'd never written one before! By complete chance I was meeting Hamish the following week, mentioned it and here we are over a year later on to do it for a fourth time!
Q) Cockfosters has had three previous sold out runs in one year - what do you think it is about this show that resonates with audiences?
Hamish: There's clearly an appetite for tube-based comedy! I think because the London Underground is such an integral part of our daily lives - and is very much a love/hate relationship - we're always drawn to articles and stories about the tube's plans, history and quirks. We've all had funny/memorable experiences on the tube - so I think people are drawn to see those put on stage in a funny way. Finally, it's a show that you can picture fairly easily when you're told it's a comedy about the London Underground. I think that short 10 second elevator pitch is useful in encouraging the public to book tickets.
Tom: I guess people just love (or love to hate) the tube! It's a familiar setting with plenty of in-jokes: the weird tube adverts for hair clinics and vitamins with Z-list celebrities endorsing them, loud tourists, fighting over seats, the politics of offering up a seat, the sweltering heat - there's a lot to say about it; an endless goldmine for comedy.
Q) How does the show compare to previous runs, now that it is being staged at the Turbine Theatre?
Hamish: The Turbine is a natural home for it in many ways. Firstly it's located in a railway arch which is perfect, especially when a loud train rumbles overhead. Secondly, the setup at Turbine is very encouraging for emerging theatre producers and writers such as ourselves to be seen on a slightly larger stage than pub-theatres can offer, but not quite approaching the larger venues around the West End. With their expertise in musicals - we're hoping there could be a future for the show morphing into a comedy musical further down the line.
Tom: For our run this August, we've actually had some breathing space to write. Usually we've found out about a slot at the theatre very last minute and we've been up against it trying to write alongside other jobs and commitments. It's always been fun coming back to the script - and it's great to see how it has come on since that first reading in May last year. They say "writing is rewriting" and we've certainly done that.
Q) What can audiences expect from this three week limited run?
Hamish: We just want people to have a good time. Many friends have texted me, months after seeing the show, that a scene from the show is playing out in front of them on the tube they're on. It's genuinely happened a lot of times now! So we hope they have a fun hour with us, and then some of the memories of the show will live on whenever they're in a similar situation on the tube...
A couple of (more theatrey?) reviewers have commented on the lack of message - and that would be because we really do see this as a comedy, not a play.
Tom: We want the audience to leave with a smile. It's an hour of pure escapism, and when it's over the audience can take the tube home, perhaps seeing it in a different light! It's been an amazing thing to be a part of, and still going on - it's just been so humbling to hear that so many have enjoyed it.
Q) A fun question to finish off - if you were to write another play based on another tube line - which would be your favourite to write about and which would be your least favourite to write about?
Hamish: Such a good question - and one we've wondered about ourselves should the opportunity for a sequel present itself. I personally would go for the Northern Line - and start to explore the North/South rivalry, and the endlessly confusing splits in the line... But no line can give a title as good as Cockfosters! Maybe I'd call it 'Tooting'. Least favourite to write about? Waterloo & City. Though maybe it would be a very short-but-sweet show!
Tom: Least favourite: the central line. We'd all melt. Favourite: Bakerloo line. It's like going back in time.
Cockfosters runs at the Turbine Theatre from the 13th August until the 31st August. For tickets and more information, you can follow the link here.
Photography by Slow Mojo Collective
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