Collapse – Riverside Studios, London

Writer: Allison Moore

Director: Lloyd Smith

Allison Moore’s Collapse hurtles through 12 hours of domestic and emotional freefall, where financial instability, marital strain, and an unexpected family arrival collide. The world is absurd yet recognisable, its logic holding firm enough to make even the most surreal moments believable. This is a play that finds humour in the cracks of real-life hardship, without softening the weight beneath.

Emma Haines anchors the production with a performance that moves effortlessly from razor-sharp comedy to moments of striking vulnerability. The laughs come naturally, and the emotional punches feel equally unforced, grounding the more outrageous turns of the script. Around her, Keenan Heinzelmann and Bonnie Langthorn complement her pace, feeding into the rapid exchanges and sustaining the chaotic energy by providing a calmer, if not equally dysfunctional, energy around her. 

Moore’s writing wastes little time, packing infertility, debt, and collapsing careers into a tight, fast-moving frame. The absurdity is not random, each heightened moment grows out of a recognisable anxiety. Lloyd Smith’s direction makes the most of this, shaping a vivid sense of place that shifts seamlessly from the safe familiarity of a condo living room to the vertigo-inducing height of a motorway bridge.

The cohesion of this world makes it all the more noticeable when immersion breaks. Paul Mclaughlin’s broad American accent slips often enough to jar, and with his character’s motivations already underdeveloped on the page, the role becomes harder to track than the rest. It’s the one thread in the ensemble that often comes loose, although the surrounding performances are strong enough to keep the balance intact.

What makes Collapse work is its refusal to separate the ridiculous from the sincere. The comedy isn’t a gloss on the darker material but grows directly from it. At times, the dynamic has all the familiarity of a 90s sitcom, with quick-fire exchanges, domestic mishaps, and heightened personalities bouncing off each other. Yet the stakes here are far sharper, the laughter underscored by a constant sense that everything could unravel in an instant. 

Funny, tense, and surprisingly affecting, Collapse builds a cohesive, heightened world and invites the audience to believe in it. While not every element holds as firmly as the rest, the strength of the central performance and the assuredness of Moore’s script ensure it lands with impact.

Runs until 30 August 2025