Fleabag at The Tobacco Factory in Bristol review
Posted on: 2015-01-23
Our rating:
Fleabag is an unbelievably daring piece of theatre. It is rude, it is foul-mouthed and it is absolutely hilarious to watch from start to finish.
Helmed by Vicky Jones, Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s one-woman performance of Fleabag is an unbelievably daring piece of theatre. It is rude, it is foul-mouthed and it is absolutely hilarious to watch from start to finish.
Over the course of an hour, we are immersed into the life of Fleabag; a hard-drinking, porn-addicted, funny, flippant and sex-obsessed owner of a guinea-pig themed café. She takes a seat on a black stool in the centre of an otherwise empty stage and begins to recount her somewhat dismal past. Her best friend Boo has died suddenly leaving her alone to manage the café they’re on the verge of losing, her on-off boyfriend has left her again taking the contents of the fridge with him and her relationship with her father is near non-existent after he took up with her Godmother several years ago.
Not a great start to adult life but Fleabag seems to breeze through these difficulties with her unwavering sense of humour and her blatant disregard for everyone but herself. She’s keen to chat up any rodent-faced, ginger-haired or paunch-bellied man without much care for their physical appearance or commitment to her. So long as they lust after her body and are keen to bed her, she’s content. If not, she resigns herself to another night of internet porn alone in her room. Preferably armed with a bottle of vodka.
From an objective point of view, I realise Fleabag may not exactly be winning over your affections. She is selfish, unyielding and uncouth with no care for societal norms or the feelings of others. But through the theatrical talents of Maddie Rice who plays her, we begin to see another side to Fleabag as her story progresses and against all odds, we do come empathise with her. Or at least, tolerate her.
As the show draws to a close, Fleabag’s defences finally begin to crumble. She admits to her transgressions and her anxieties and we start to see her as she really is, drowning within the depths of her loneliness, clinging only to her facetious disposition and men’s sexual desire for her as a means to keep her head above water.
Things aren’t always pretty beneath the surface and Fleabag demonstrates this beautifully. But as the final moments in the performance show, we can always learn from our mistakes and try again. After all, that’s why they put rubbers at the ends of pencils …
4/5
Reviewed by Grace Fox for 365Bristol - the leading events and entertainment website for Bristol
Article by:
Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
