Cul de Sac post-show Q&A at Omnibus Theatre

Cul de Sac post-show Q&A at Omnibus Theatre

How exercised do you get over the spacing of streetlights? David Shopland wrote his new play Cul de Sac with Londoners in mind, after overhearing an illuminating streetlights conversation between commuters on London Underground’s Victoria Line.

Cul de sac [kuhl-duh-sak, -sak, koo l-; French kyduh-sak] Noun, plural.
1. A street, lane, etc., closed at one end; blind alley; dead-end street.
2. Any situation in which further progress is impossible.

In Northwood Hills, north London, Zone 6 – a mere 1 hour 50 minutes’ travel time to the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham, south London, where Cul de Sac is currently enjoying its world premiere season – four millennials are contemplating their life choices in a drunken evening of secrets slowly revealed and unravelled in “the middle of nowhere”.

Are Ruth (Shereen Roushbaiani) and Frank (Ellis J Wells), who still haven’t defrosted their leftover wedding cake three years on, destined for divorce? Why has vicar’s wife Marie (Lucy Farrett) got a burner phone? Is cuckolded Simon (Callum Patrick Hughes) ready to come out of the closet?

When young Muslim real estate agent Hamza (Bekham Salehani) crashes in, the impromptu party takes an unexpected turn.

Billed as a comedy-drama, Cul de Sac is very much a play of two halves: the rib-tickling Ayckbourn-esque farce of Act One giving way to moments of gut-wrenching grief, truths and traumas in Act Two.

For the post-show discussion, I was joined by Fake Escape founder and artistic director David Shopland, the writer and director (not to mention designer and producer) of Cul de Sac, and the full cast. Amongst the topics discussed: ensemble-led creativity and collaboration, generational divides, Tube travel distances, and favourite board games. Pictionary, anyone???

Cul de Sac continues at London’s Omnibus Theatre until 14 June 2025.

Q&A video

The Cul de Sac panel are (left-right): David Shopland, and cast members Lucy Farrett, Shereen Roushbaiani, Callum Patrick Hughes, Bekham Salehani and Ellis J Wells. With thanks to Stephanie Ressort.

Q&A photos

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