In one of the first New Writing sessions, we looked at Phoebe Waller Bridge and her production Fleabag. From a highly successful TV show to a live theatre experience, Phoebe’s work has been well received in both aspects and I really enjoyed exploring her work. However, like anything Fleabag has been the subject of criticism too. Busby (2019) states that “Fleabag is “for posh girls”, insisting such arguments “undermine the story” and that people from a wide range of backgrounds relate to the show.” I agree with this statement as I think that everyone can relate to the character that Phoebe has created and that Fleabag is widely accessible as a TV show.  When watching clips from Series 1 of the show, I found Phoebe’s character funny, confident, sexy and strong which to me is very fascinating as it is rare that a female character has all of these traits, particularly a lead female character as well. I think that it is amazing that Fleabag has been well received  in the most part because this shows that feminism in modern culture is not as much of a taboo as it was once considered to be. Also, I think that this could potentially lead the way for new artists, especially female artists to portray these strong women characters without the fear that they may be ill-received.

Fleabag has made me realise that before this, there was hardly any TV shows that have a strong female lead. I admire Phoebe Waller Bridge for taking on this challenge and showing that women can be funny and confident and that any female can also play characters with these traits. Her work has inspired me into looking at more feminist pieces and plays that are written by women for women. I think this is because I would love the opportunity to play what one would consider a strong female character to prove to myself that I can play a lead role with confidence.

Busby, M. (2019). Phoebe Waller-Bridge defends Fleabag from poshness criticisms. Retrieved 11 October 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/jul/03/phoebe-waller-bridge-defends-fleabag-from-poshness-criticisms