Fleabag *****

Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2013

EXCERPT: "Fleabag was right up my street. Not only do I love writer and performer Phoebe Waller-Bridge – whose meteoric rise I have stalked since first seeing her at the Bush Theatre in 2010 – but it’s also a wonderfully warm, truthful and funny one-woman monologue that taps into all the elements of theatre I love most. It is insightful, realistic and engaging."

Fleabag was right up my street. Not only do I love writer and performer Phoebe Waller-Bridge – whose meteoric rise I have stalked since first seeing her at the Bush Theatre in 2010 – but it’s also a wonderfully warm, truthful and funny one-woman monologue that taps into all the elements of theatre I love most. It is insightful, realistic and engaging.

The character Waller-Bridge has written and so perfectly inhabits is, it is slowly revealed, in real trouble. Her tricky relationship with men stems from her obsessive and destructive relationship to sex and porn, and this is shown to affect every aspect of her life. The character she has created is candid, surprising, and eminently likeable. Vicky Jones has directed Waller-Bridge with the perfect touch – light-handed enough to allow her to bring out all the quirky turns of phrase and mannerisms that make her so mesmerisingly engaging to watch, whilst carefully modulating her energy levels so that we feel we can relax into and fully enjoy the show.

Waller-Bridge’s script is beautifully written, the twists and turns and revelations well-timed and introduced entirely naturally. Her matter-of-fact delivery highlights the pathos of the various revelations, rather than forcing the shock factor. Sound effects are artfully employed to heighten specific moments and though we have nothing else to focus on but Waller-Bridge (no fancy costume, set, props or lighting), she has more than enough stage presence and charisma to keep us hooked. She’s the kind of performer you want to meet in a bar; she’s the kind of writer that makes you wish you could write too.