Ten years ago, Phoebe Waller-Bridge perched on a stool and delivered a line about having a massive arsehole in a manner that was precision-engineered to make the audience gasp and laugh. It worked on me. It clearly worked for other people, too, because the show, Fleabag, staged in one of the cave-like spaces of Edinburgh’s Underbelly Cowgate, spawned a global TV sensation. The rest is fringe history.
Fleabag is often held up as the epitome of fringe success stories, though the reviews at the time were relatively mixed. There were some glowing responses but the Guardian was not alone in giving it three stars. Nevertheless, the show, which had the backing of Soho theatre, received a Fringe First award and, crucially, came to the attention of the BBC.
