Fleabag has won several awards, been made into two popular TV series on the BBC and currently being performed live on stage for the final time. Every show is sold out however theatres are also live streaming the theatre show into the cinema room which gives more people to opportunity to watch this piece of theatre.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, as so many people know not only wrote this popular series and play but is also the writer of another popular BBC One show, Killing Eve. Watching Fleabag on stage is an experience, you watch an hour-long monologue of where this show began. We are transported back to the first series of this show while this show is on the stage for the last hurrah. The set-up is very simple yet no big sets are needed as Waller-Bridge portrays everything so well. Waller-Bridge sits in a spotlight on a tall chair in a red jumper and skin-tight jeans.
We begin the show with a disastrous encounter with a bank manager and go through Fleabag's life of chaos which includes woman, her obsession with sex and her guilt which is affecting her life. This show is directed by Waller-Bridge's friend and collaborator, Vicky Jones. Even though this a very simple show with a simple set up, there is a lot to it. Waller-Bridge becomes every character and manages to do it very convincingly that we see this other character instead of just Fleabag at times. This is done effortlessly by Waller-Bridge yet Jones has done a great job in directing and making these transformations even better. Along with Jones, Waller-Bridge's sister Isobel provides the sounds that highlight key moments throughout the show. Also, Elliot Griggs' lighting is very simple yet is creates such an impact by shifting the moods of the performance and scenes. All these elements combined create a memorable show that you won’t want to miss.
There is no denying that Waller-Bridge's writing and performance are outstanding in this show. Every word and sentence have been thought about. Words have been chosen for a reason whether it is comedic affect or to invoke a different emotion. Even though whilst watching the live show it all seems familiar as the stories, we are being told have already been told in the first series of Fleabag the TV show yet what you instead is Waller-Bridge's mimicry of the people that we meet in these stories. Every detail has been thought about, these mimics make Waller-Bridge an even more diverse actor as everything about her changes from her voice to posture and we can see clearly this other character on stage. Most of these mimics add a lot more humour to this show that you wouldn’t think it needed. From the rodent man who we meet on the train with a very tiny mouth to her dead mother revealing the limitations of having enormous bosom by opening the fridge door or attempting to see something on the floor; these are just two the character Waller-Bridge presents to us.
Silence is used quite a bit in this show and it is used with great effect whether it's the long pause while Fleabag is sizing up her sisters new hairstyle before commenting "Hair looks nice" or the silence is as Fleabag is holding a guinea pig remembering her friend and wanting to stop her guinea pigs pain. These silences create tension as we aren’t sure what is going to happen next. There is an excitement when Waller-Bridge pauses and we have a silence as we have anticipation on what she will say or do next.
Waller-Bridge plays this part so well; she never overplays anything and the audience can always see everything on Waller-Bridge's face which makes her such an interesting performer to watch. There is a combination of moments of humour which is then switched up to sadness and sorrow that you want to cry as you feel Fleabags sorrow. There is a reason that every theatre performance is sold out as if you get a chance to watch this show live you should. Even though most theatre tickets are sold out for this show you can still watch the live stream of the show at a cinema near to you. If you watch this show in the theatre or in a cinema you still get the same effect and the show is still just as enjoyable. As this is the last run of this show it would be mad not to see it if you get the chance as it has won awards as it is seen by critics as amazing and this show is wonderful to watch as everything works so well together.
