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| Photo taken from Google |
Writer- Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Theatre- Wyndham's Theatre, London
Running Dates- last show on September 14th, broadcast live through NT Live on September 12th, encores expected
Running Time- 65 mins with no interval
Cast- Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Genre- dark comedy
Rating- 5/5 stars
Plot
See the hilarious, award-winning, one-woman show that inspired the BBC’s hit TV series Fleabag, broadcast live to cinemas from London’s West End.
Written and performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag, Killing Eve) and directed by Vicky Jones, Fleabag is a rip-roaring look at some sort of woman living her sort of life.
Fleabag may seem oversexed, emotionally unfiltered and self-obsessed, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. With family and friendships under strain and a guinea pig café struggling to keep afloat, Fleabag suddenly finds herself with nothing to lose.
Playing to sold-out audiences in New York and London, don’t miss your chance to see this ‘legitimately hilarious show’ (New Yorker), broadcast live to a cinema near you.
Taken from National Theatre Website
Opinions
I was already a huge fan of the TV show and was extremely lucky that the run of this show overlapped with my birthday, meaning I got tickets to see it the day after my birthday. I was very excited to go and see it. It did not disappoint.
Being in the same room as Phoebe Waller-Bridge, a woman who inspires me so much that I wrote one of my university assessed pieces about her, was a privilege. Getting to see her perform took my breath away. I will start this by saying that the play is very different from the show. As it was originally written for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, it has an abnormally short running time for a West End show. It gets going right away and you are immediately thrown into Fleabag's world. She is just as funny and unapologetically herself in the play as she is in the show.
The only downside of having seen the show first was that a lot of the jokes were the same and therefore didn't have quite the same effect on me as they did on people who hadn't seen the show. Also, the fourth wall element is very different in person. It still works wonderfully, you just don't get these cheeky glances from Fleabag that we do in the show.
Waller-Bridge is a superb writer and keeps your attention for the whole time. The big revelations of the show shock you, to the point where one of them had the whole audience gasp. I've been in very few shows where they manage to achieve that. She keeps you on your toes the whole time, not quite sure which way the story's going to turn.
I loved the minimalist setting and the use of voices through speakers. I think that a more elaborate set and production would have taken away the Fringe vibe that you get from the show. Waller-Bridge hardly leaves her chair, and if she does it's just for a few seconds at a time.
I am so glad that I got to see this show and if you have a chance to go see it I would highly recommend. It is a very funny, dark comedy with lots of adult themes performed to perfection.
