After three consecutive sold-out runs, London’s smash hit comedy Cockfosters rides again.
Strangers James and Tori meet on the Piccadilly Line at Heathrow and travel across London on a journey they'll never forget.
A “screamingly funny” off-the-rails comedy about the London Underground, Cockfosters is a brilliantly surreal take on the tube journey we know and love (subject to delays) that will change your commute forever.
From the team that brought you the ★★★★★ phenomenon Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons (2019), the ★★★★★ Edinburgh-Fringe hit gosh! (2022) and the ★★★★★ comedy Badgers Can’t Be Friends (2021)
Ahead of the show running at London’s Turbine Theatre from 13th and 31st August 2024, we caught up with writers and co-producers Hamish Clayton and Tom Woffenden to learn more.
Where did your career begin?
Hamish: 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/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 Turbine!
Tom: I've worked in TV and film for nearly a decade, from Hollywood to Borehamwood. It's very much of a case of "who you know" to get into the industry, so I'm really proud of myself for getting in knowing absolutely no one. 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!
Hamish: I've always admired Emma Rice's work. Her pieces never sacrifice fun for deeper meaning - though they usually succeed in packing a real punch too. So performances like 'Cymbeline', 'Dead Dog In A Suitcase' and 'The Wild Bride' by Kneehigh have undoubtedly had big impacts on me.
Tom: Growing up all I did was watch comedy. Monty Python, Laurel and Hardy, Fawlty Towers and Blackadder to name a handful. I basically wanted to be Mr Bean, do impressions as good as Robin Williams and make films like Airplane and The Naked Gun. I am always listening to music and sometimes ideas come from just listening to a song or a piece of music.
What can you tell me about Cockfosters?
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.
Where did the idea for the show come from?
Hamish: Tom had the initial idea, I believe when sat on the Picadilly 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 - and I'd always wanted to do something with Hamish; I've been a huge fan of his since we met.
How have you approached the development of the piece to where you are now?
Tom: Without a deadline Cockfosters would never have happened. The Drayton Arms had a last minute slot that came up for two nights in May last year. We just agreed to take it with no script, cast or plan. In just six weeks, we achieved what we set out to do and it got off to a great start because the concept was strong. It's gone from strength to strength since then but it's nice to see the elements from our very draft that have remained in the script over a year later.
Hamish: We began with a staged-reading at Drayton Arms - to test the concept. The feedback we received from friends and family was overwhelmingly positive - so we decided to bite the bullet and put our own money into putting it on for 3 nights at Turbine. This sold-out and an extra night was added. This all led to a 2-week run in Turbine which also sold-out (before the first show...) so we're back for 3 weeks this time.
Having enjoyed sell out runs already, have you had to change anything ahead of the show returning?
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. Being a comedy, it's also nice to write with someone else - you're both pushing each other to find the best joke and if you're both laughing then you're on the right track.
Hamish: Each time we look to add new sketches, tweak the writing (depending on what went down well with audiences) and there's ususally a need forre-casting some roles in the show too. So each iteration has had fresh challenges, people and energy which I think is vital. We've also had to change logo in the past (due to run-ins with TfL...) and we always look to improve the set each time too.
Did you have to do a lot of riding the tube whilst developing the show?
Hamish: I try to cycle when possible (read into that what you will..!) - but of course there's always lot of tube-riding for any Londoner. Ideas would always come to both of us, and we'd text each other no matter what time of day it was. We've still got a whole load of sketch ideas which we could develop and include, but that's for a future run with a longer running time..! I think the ones we've selected are the most fun and mould together nicely for a high-paced show.
Tom: Since the show came to life, I have moved to Acton Town and now take the Piccadilly Line eastbound towards Cockfosters every single day of my life. I literally live this play, made even more apparent when I land at Heathrow...we're both always keeping an eye out for ideas. A hen party all in cowgirl hats sat next to me one night on the tube - and soon after a hen party made its way into the show. Art imitates life etc...
What are your favourite tube stations?
Tom: Stockwell out of pure laziness: it's the easiest way to change between the Northern and Victoria lines. I also like Charing Cross for all the drawings on platforms - though I don't know if I've ever actually got off there!
Hamish: I like the artwork they do at Gloucester Road. Westminster is epic, but most sentimental for me is Earl's Court where my grandmother used to live and I'd visit as a child. It was my gateway to the big city.
It’s been a good time for new British musicals recently, how do you feel the landscape of musicals is at current?
Hamish: It's exciting that there's been such big breaks for Six, Operation Mincemeat and 42 Balloons. That being said, very few doors have opened to us so far. We're hoping to develop Cockfosters into a musical after this run - and hope it will follow in their footsteps. So we're also on the lookout for any musical producers who might like to partner with us to get this towards bigger stages too.
Tom: Musicals are brilliant. I love so many. Early on we always wanted music in Cockfosters which we work into the show via a busker character. Cockfosters definitely has the foundation for a brilliant musical. It would be wonderful to develop that.
What keeps you inspired?
Tom: I have so much respect for anyone who has completed something. It's very easy to give up along the way - I've done it a lot myself - but to hear someone say "I have an idea for this film or play" and then, before you know it, that person has staged their play or complete their film or run a marathon or finished a painting or written a song or whatever it is! That's an amazing achievement and inspires me to do the same.
Hamish: Seeing others' work. When you leave the theatre or cinema having seen something brilliant - it just makes you want to get back home and get to work on your own projects and ideas. Also collaborating with others - when you see their talent and brilliance it definitely inspires you to work even harder and keeps you upping your own game!
What do you hope an audience member takes away from seeing Cockfosters?
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.
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.
Cockfosters runs at The Turbine Theatre from Tuesday 13th August until Saturday 31st August 2024. Tickets are available from https://www.theturbinetheatre.com/whats-on/cockfosters
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