Fleabag is a on woman show about a hyper-sexualised woman who is recounting to us the last 48 hours, what got her to the situation she is in and as a result, her outlook on the world. Fleabag starts off at a hundred miles and hour and then starts to accelerate. Maddie Rice’s extraordinary performance never once slips. She handles Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s script with dexterity and skill. This is a very complicated and highly nuanced performance that allows the audience to slip into a sense of enjoyment of this crazy hilarious and sexy story, only to find we are witnessing the breakdown of a very damaged woman right before our eyes. It is really only towards the end of the play that we realise what we are seeing is a desperate attempt to not only deal with loss and grief but an enormous guilt that distorted and twisted her life.
I was taken on a journey in this production that is rare. The difficult art of mixing in-your-face sexual anecdotes and hilarious situational moments with dark and confronting emotions is done with ease by both writer and performer. Another evening that had us talking for a long time after the show was over.
Lynden Jones – Theatre Now & On The TownÂ
