Top Of The Bill

Comedian and writer Deborah Frances-White booked a somewhat reluctant Phoebe Waller-Bridge to do a ten minute spot in a dusty basement theatre in Soho in 2012. Part stand up, party story-telling, that night marked the first public appearance of the cultural phenomenon Fleabag. It went onto be developed into a full length show and performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It has run for two highly successful series on BBC TV winning huge audiences, critical acclaim and a BAFTA and many Primetime Emmy awards. In this essay Deborah recalls the impact of that first performance, how it helped drive a new revived wave of feminism and how it emboldened her own work.