CUL-DE-SAC
Omnibus Theatre
★★★
“Ultimately it is a moving piece, that takes us behind the twitching curtains of suburbia”
Northwood Hills. Zone 6 London. The middle of nowhere. With apologies to the residents of HA6, that is where we find Ruth Townsend and company, at a bit of a dead end. It’s not so much that Ruth hates where she lives, she just dislikes the ‘concept’ of suburbia. ‘And you may ask yourself, “Well, how did I get here?”’ is no doubt a constant refrain in here head. The Talking Heads song does indeed make an appearance as part of the well-chosen soundtrack to David Shopland’s new play, “Cul-de-Sac”. Billed as a comedy-drama it is, more accurately, a comedy and then a drama. In that order. The first act sets up the situation and characterisation with lashings of humour, no holds barred; while Act Two belongs to the very different genre of psychological drama. Both halves, together, make for a long evening and, although we leave with much to contemplate and talk about, we are also trying to think of a ruthless editor to recommend to Shopland.
It is a finely structured piece, nevertheless, zooming in on the secrets and resentments of the characters that have wound up in the eponymous, yet unnamed, cul-de-sac. None are stereotypes or caricatures, but they all do conform to a particular ‘type’. Shopland is a great observer of human nature, and the laughs can sometimes give way to gasps. Shades of Edward Albee, Mike Leigh and Joe Orton are all present, but they compete with, rather than blend into, each other.
Ruth (Shereen Roushbaiani) and Frank (Ellis J. Wells) have been living on the cul-de-sac for three years and have never really got to know the neighbours that well yet. Roushbaiani presents Ruth’s dissatisfaction with a delicacy that we feel could crack at any moment. It is a wonder it doesn’t shatter sooner given Wells’ shouty, cantankerous Frank. Nervous neighbour, Marie, unwittingly wanders into their life and living room. Lucy Farrett, in a bid to sustain the volume set by Wells, sacrifices the subtlety of Marie’s neuroses and secrets with an over-emphasised delivery. Callum Patrick Hughes, as Simon, gurns and twitches his way into the fold as the lovable misfit. Late to the party is Behkam Salehani, as Hamza, a figure that turns the tide and makes us look at the others in a completely different way.
‘What starts as a quiet evening rapidly unravels…’ we are told in the publicity blurb. Only it is the other way around. It begins quite raucously (too raucously) and gradually drifts into quieter, more introspective territory. The cast seem to be trying too hard initially, which hinders our belief in their characters. Emotions run too high too soon. Touches of surreal choreography open each act during which we can see the question marks hovering above the actors’ heads as well as the audience. Shopland, who also directs, is packing in too many ingredients and we are losing our way a bit. A soliloquy about religious and racial persecution seems to appear out of nowhere.
But then the penny drops. Shopland delivers a twist, the true colours show through and at last we prick up our ears. The sadness that has bubbled to the surface is palpable and the performances have settled into a pool of poignancy, its stillness amplifying the emotions. A false ending, however, trips us up. Shopland should have quit while he was winning, but instead the narrative coasts into a kind of group therapy session where they are trying to outdo each other in the trauma stakes. A bit like the Monty Python ‘Yorkshireman’ sketch; “You were lucky…”
Ultimately it is a moving piece, that takes us behind the twitching curtains of suburbia. Occasionally predictable yet with a sharp insight into the complications, secrets and tragedies of seemingly ordinary people. The shift from humour to pathos is powerfully executed, although a bit drawn out. We may be in a cul-de-sac but, at times, it seems it has no end.
CUL-DE-SAC
Omnibus Theatre
Reviewed on 29th May 2025
by Jonathan Evans
Photography by Kat Forsyth
Previously reviewed at this venue:
BLOOD WEDDING | ★★★★ | May 2025
THE GUEST | ★★★★★ | April 2025
VANYA IS ALIVE | ★★★★ | February 2025
THE ICE AT THE END OF THE WORLD | ★★★★ | September 2024
MY LIFE AS A COWBOY | ★★★ | August 2024
HASBIAN | ★★★★ | June 2024
COMPOSITOR E | ★★★ | September 2023
