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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 ...

Shortbits: Streaming @thepleasance

The subject matter may not be to everyone's tastes (although going by their popularity online maybe it would be), but Pipeline theatre's Streaming offers insight into the world of camming, online sex exchanges.

But for a lurid subject matter the play turns out to be quite human in its observations about life that can turn in the right circumstances. While thoughtful and surreal at times, what makes the piece worthwhile are the excellent performances from the cast. They manage to create realistic and sympathetic characters.

If only it was a little shorter as it would pack even more of a punch. It runs (for two hours plus interval) at the Pleasance Theatre until the end of the month.




Photo credit: production photos

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