THEATRE REVIEW: Fleabag: Epically Entertaining and Daringly Dirty

<p>Fleabag is a kind of play where you are unsure of what you will be watching. Especially as the sign on the theatre entrance read: ‘Warning: References to sex’.</p> <p>★★★★★</p><p> </p><p><img src="http://www.thegayuk.com/communities/8/004/009/928/388/images/4617600339.jpg" width="380" height="253" alt="Credit: Richard Davenport" title="Credit: Richard Davenport"/></p> <p></p><p>Fleabag is a one-woman sixty minute show that portrays the life of one young woman in the most hilarious, sympathetic and filthy fashion. Loved it. It starts in an interview setting, and then it trails off to her hot encounters and her needing to take ‘hot’ photos of herself to please her many admirers. ‘Take A Dirty Picture For Me’ comes to mind. </p><p></p><p>It all happens in the space of 48 hours, and whilst it is funny in the writing, it shows great depth when the theme of feminism is introduced in an almost caricature way. Maddie Rice played the role master-mindedly. She makes her character appear ‘laddish’ and pertaining to be a player. </p><p></p><p>Though many things she did and said were crude and filthy, if a bloke said and did the same things as Maddie, to his ‘blokey’ mates, no one would batter an eyelid. But because it was a female, some audience members cringed with discomfort. </p><p></p><p>Maddie Rice plays the unnamed character with utter and sheer brilliance. Her wit and humour were 10/10. It was that funny that I thought I had booked tickets to see a stand-up comedian at ‘Live at the Apollo’ show. Maddie really captured the role as written by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, with precision and dedication. It felt as though the role was written for her.</p><p></p><p>Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s writing was a delicious treat to our ears, and a true and daring piece of work that was worthy of the full-house show it received.</p><p></p><p>SUMMARY: ★★★★★ Fleabag: Epically Entertaining and Daringly Dirty </p><p>THEATRE: <a href="http://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/event/fleabag/">The Birmingham Rep</a></p><p>RUN: 14th - 17th January 2015</p><p>TICKETS: £12.00</p><p></p><p></p><p> </p>