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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 ...

Rehearsal: Week four

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It helps to pull ones weight... Sent from my iPhone Posted by email from paulinlondon's posterous

Music: Favelization

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It had been a while since I had been to the theatre, and so Felicity and I caught Afroreggae 's Favelization concert at the Barbican on Thursday evening. Afroreggae have played at the Barbican a few times over the past few years, but this is the first time I caught them. Afroreggae began in Brazil in the shantytowns (favelas) and the music is a fusion of reggae, hip hop, soul, pop and latin rhythms. In addition to this the music also is a call to action about many of the injustices in the world, particularly among the world's poor and disenfranchised. Of course being in Portugeuse this was lost on me. I checked with Felicity and she was a little rusty on it too. I guess most of the audience may have been in the same boat. While there were projections that accompanied the show the rapid fire words deserved to be comprehended. So after making a mental note to add language course to my new years resolutions, I could sit back and enjoy the concert. It was interesting that despite...

Hot news this week in London

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doggers delight , originally uploaded by red5standingby . A local candidate is even promising to arrive on scene and disrupt the goings on ... Ron Davies should have thought about that as an excuse rather than badgers...

Rehearsals: week three

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Rehearsals for the Christmas concert were progressing as normal as could be expected and then Sasha whipped out his fish... Posted by email from paulinlondon's posterous

Hot news this week in London...

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Shockwaves Rock Shares , originally uploaded by LinkMachineGo . Keep on rockin'...

Theatre: 365

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I wasn't quite sure what to expect from seeing 365 . It played at the Edinburgh Festival to some very positive reviews, but a two hour play about children in care taking their first steps to independence seemed like an unusual way to spend a Saturday evening at the theatre. Since it was based in Scotland I dragged fellow chorister Stephen to see it since he was from Glasgow and I figured he could help with the translation (well of the accents anyway). I was hoping I would get away with nudging him and asking from time to time "Wha-did-he-say? Wha-did-he-say??" This sort of worked... The play unfolds telling the stories of a group of children who pass through a "practice flat" as they gain their first steps to living independently and... adulthood. There is much scope for dream-like sequences, music and movement and these appear throughout and help make what could be a depressing subject a little more insightful and dare I say it... Even entertaining. While at n...

Idle Banter in Soho Saturday

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Man #1: How much is he selling it for? Paul: I think he said £20... Man #2: Will he throw in lube for free? Paul: Only if you want his spit... Posted by email from paulinlondon's posterous

Rehearsals: The view from the back

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The first rehearsals for the London Gay Men's Chorus started Monday evening... And it was a packed house... The concerts are at Cadogan Hall on December 19 and 20. Posted by email from paulinlondon's posterous