Q-Park China town London 18/2/18 Year of the Dog
In Embracing the Underdog, Stella Whalley revisits the male alter ego first introduced in Tokyo Tales, this time exploring themes of identity, collapse, and survival amid the anxiety of Brexit-era Britain.
The character works in the financial sector, paranoid about the uncertain future and how Brexit will impact his life. He suffers from increasing anxiety to the point where it overtakes his clarity of thought, due to excessive cocaine and alcohol use.
Desperate to relieve the stress of work and the all-consuming tiredness from the long commute home to the suburbs, he goes out every night after finishing work late, hoping for something good to happen to break the monotony of the daily grind and his loveless home life. At the end of a hard, knackering year, he parties excessively. He misses the last train out of the city, staggers, falls, and becomes part of the cardboard city community. In his oblivion, he has no idea that his money and shoes have been taken. He is out cold.
STELLA WHALLEY
TOBY BRICHENO