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High anxiety: Collapse - Riverside Studios

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It’s a brave or maybe slightly provocative production to use Hammersmith Bridge on their artwork for a show called Collapse, which is about how everything collapses—poorly maintained bridges, relationships, and jobs. Nothing works. That’s probably too close to home for Hammersmith residents stuck with a magnificently listed and useless bridge on their front door. It gets even weirder when you realise the piece is staged in what looks like a meeting room with a bar. However, keeping things together in the most unlikely of circumstances is at the heart of Allison Moore's witty and engaging four-hander, which is currently having a limited engagement at Riverside Studios . The piece opens with Hannah (Emma Haines) about to get an injection from her husband (Keenan Heinzelmann). They’re struggling for a baby, and he’s struggling to get out of bed. But he managed to give her a shot of hormones before she started worrying about the rest of the day. She’s unsure she will keep her job with ...

Last thoughts...

As it turns out, today is my last day in London. Tonight I fly back to Australia. Whether this is a permanent arrangement or a temporary one I will find out in a couple of weeks, so it is probably worth making a list of…

Things I will miss (in no particular order):
  • The weather. It has been fine and mild, and as the leaves are now starting to fall it looks all rather pleasant. I will be returning to Australia (Brisbane in particular) where it is hot, sticky and glaringly bright. When I tell English people about this they look at me and say "Oh yes I can see how you just can't stand the prospect of returning…"

  • Public transport that sort of works. Actually even with its problems it is still by far the most civilised public transport I have encountered in all my travels.

  • The parks the greenery and all that goes with that

  • British Television. Series three of Little Britain is about to commence. Darn.

  • Marks and Spencer food. By far the most edible and doesn't taste like they made it with their feet.

  • My gym. Even by London standards it was pretty "out there".

Things I won't miss so much (again in no particular order):
  • A fried chicken store on every corner with that lovely aroma of week-old vegetable shortening wafting out of it

  • Sandwiches that appear to be soaked in mayonnaise.

  • Hard water

  • Being accosted by beggars and Big Issue sellers (wait a moment, that will happen in Brisbane too)  

  • Shitty coffee

So it will be over and out from Paul in London. And over to http://paulincognito.blogspot.com

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