Scripted, directed and played by the great talent Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag is an incredible show that has an eponymous protagonist who constantly breaks the fourth wall and exchanges with the audience about her life in London. While navigating her midlife crisis, she was also living through the death of her best friend, indifference from her family, hostility from her step-mom, and emotional complications. Even though we were watching through a screen, you can intimately empathize with her since we are not just probing into her life through an invisible lens but constantly exchanging eyes and facial expressions with her as she constantly “zones out” from her reality to look at us, the camera, the audience who are accompanying her emotional journey. We would laugh through her crises with her dark humor and get to know her vulnerability behind her mask as if we were the only best friends she opens up to. What’s also intriguing is that fleabag had a romantic relationship with a Roman Catholic priest, who was madly in love with her yet consequently also struggling with his faith.
It is a great show because it is simply unique and well-presented. The way the audience are engaged in the life of the protagonist, the extent that we are concerned and feeling for her, the dramatic and entertaining yet relatable friend, sibling, parent and romantic relationships, and the exploration of the reconciliation between faith and worldly/sensual desire… As an audience, you feel you presence in the show, and you would contemplate over her life encounters and reflect on your own.
Acknowledgements
Figure 1 https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/lifestyle/a26852952/fleabag-season-2-cast-plot-air-date-spoilers/
Figure 2 https://www.thecrimson.com/column/personal-essays/article/2021/3/9/to-fleabag-with-grief-personal-essay/
