Con’s Score: 3.5 guinea pigs
What is it about hearing a well spoken English lass, speaking boldly about her huge vagina, that gets an audience rolling about hysterically?
For many in the audience of this National Theatre Live production, they already know the answer, because they’ve seen the award-winning TV series. Apparently, it’s brilliant.
At first it’s the confronting novelty of having a female talking boldly where no man has gone. (Seriously, there are topics she crashes through I couldn’t mention here.)
It’s also because Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag, Killing Eve) is a brilliant writer and comedian. Her comic timing and delivery are exceptional. What she does in one near-wordless scene where she sends a boyfriend dirty pictures of herself is brilliance.
Phoebe Walker-Bridge tells her story of running a guinea-pigged themed cafe, with her best friend Boo. It’s the day after her boyfriend Harry has left her. She has an addiction to porn and he’s had enough. She realises he’ll be back in a week, so she sets out to have as much sex as she possibly can, while working out how to save her cafe. Her mother and Boo have died recently and she’s coping the only ways she knows how – through excess.
It’s when the darkness and moments of introspective shade come into play that the penny drops. Phoebe has her deep flaws and insecurities, and she reaches deep into herself and puts it out on display. There’s searing honesty amongst the hilarious storytelling and director Vicky Jones has made sure she’s wickedly sharp.
The only problem is that there are so many rich characters and sub plots, it’s hard to keep this focused. It feels like Phoebe gives us a smorgasbord of amazingly coloured characters with enough depth to love or loathe them. You can see how a TV series could spin out of this show.
The pace is even, but she doesn’t stop for a sip of water during this 90 minute monologue – even though she caps and tails it with a man’s voice. The rest is relentless and never boring. I wanted so much more. It looks like my summer viewing is sorted…
Con Nats, On The Screen
Photography by Joan Marcus
