National Theatre Live: Fleabag (2019)
5KNational Theatre Live: Fleabag: Directed by Tony Grech-Smith, Vicky Jones. With Phoebe Waller-Bridge. A rip-roaring look at some sort of woman living her sort of life. With family and friendships under strain and a guinea pig cafe struggling to keep afloat, Fleabag suddenly finds herself with nothing to lose.
“Amazonu0026#39;s short series of filmed versions of West End shows continues with a recording of u0026quot;Fleabagu0026quot; Phoebe Waller-Bridgeu0026#39;s one woman show that she subsequently adapted into a two season BBC sitcom that I thought couldnu0026#39;t possibly live up to the hype, but was actually phenomenal stuff.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFleabag (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) recounts to the audience about various aspects of her professional, personal and sex life, following the death of her business partner and friend.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhilst Waller-Bridge is a wonderful actress and carries this (mostly) one woman show through to itu0026#39;s completion (there are some voice overs that she interacts with at times) watching the show after seeing the series feels a touch underwhelming. I mean, this is natural though, itu0026#39;s a 90-minute piece, with no sets, props or other actors, relative to a fully realised six hours or so of Television. The series length gives her much more time to expand on some of the themes that are present here.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eYou can see the genesis though and why the stage show was so highly regarded. Waller-Bridge is unbelievably good with the daring, filthy and ultimately vulnerable central role. Itu0026#39;s a much more rounded story than a collection of the examples of its most vulgar moments would have you believe, as Fleabag tries to cope with the guilt and loss that is eating her alive.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf youu0026#39;re a fan of the show, itu0026#39;s a fascinating insight into the process of adapting something. If youu0026#39;re not, itu0026#39;s a stellar performance.”
