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Fleabag, Soho Theatre – Review

Written and performed by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Directed by Vicky Jones
★★★★

Pros: An absolutely hilarious comedy which will have you laughing out loud. Waller-Bridge manages to captivate the audience’s attention for the duration of the story.

Cons: If rude sex-related jokes don’t appeal to you then this production is most definitely not for you.

Our Verdict: People with an open sense of humour will fast become fans of this production and I can’t wait to see what else Waller-Bridge has up her sleeve.

Credit: Richard Davenport

Following a successful run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s self-written one-woman show has come to London, entertaining crowds at the Soho Theatre. Waller-Bridge has most recently been seen in Jack Thorne’s bathroom focused play Mydidae, but Fleabag is proof that not only is she a great comedy actress, but that her writing is also hilarious.

Fleabag follows the story of a young woman obsessed with sex who runs a guinea pig themed café. Following the suicide of her best friend after a split with her boyfriend, the café which they co-owned is now in serious trouble and set to be closed if she cannot find the money to pay for the Lease.

Underneath the exterior of a young woman struggling to keep up with day-to-day problems is a much darker side. Her mother died two years ago following a double mastectomy, she no longer has contact with her father after he took off with her godmother, her boyfriend has dumped her and she rarely sees her sister. She stays up most nights watching pornography online and indulges in fantasies that most people would only dare to think about. Her way of coping while her life spirals downwards is to use humour to hide her pain, though by the end of the hour-long production, her hurt is clear for all to see.

Waller-Bridge’s lines are delivered with such precision and wit that it literally had me snorting with laughter. Even in the second half of the act where the tone shifts slightly and we see another side to her, Waller-Bridge’s humour never lets up. One-person shows are notoriously difficult – the audience’s attention has to be maintained throughout – but this isn’t a problem for this production. My attention was focused solely on her story for the entire performance. I left the theatre with my face aching from smiling and feeling that my abs had received the most thorough workout they’ve had in months.

Please feel free to leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below!

Fleabag runs at the Soho Theatre until 22nd September 2013.
Box Office: 020 7478 0100 or book online at http://www.sohotheatre.com/whats-on/fleabag-drywrite

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