“Fleabag” is coming stateside. Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s award-winning play is set to debut in New York, a press release announced. Written and performed by Waller-Bridge and directed by frequent collaborator Vicky Jones, the play inspired the BBC Three/Amazon Studios series starring the former. The play made its debut at the 2013 Edinburgh Festival, where it won a Fringe First Award. The dark comedy was later staged in London and toured the UK, South Korea, and Australia.
Annapurna Theatre is presenting the DryWrite and Soho Theatre production, which marks Waller-Bridge’s New York stage debut. Previews kick off February 28 with opening night slated for March 7 at SoHo Playhouse. The limited five-week engagement concludes April 7.
The play — and the series — tells the story of a self-destructive woman who owns a guinea pig-themed café in London. A second season of the show has been confirmed, but no word on a premiere date yet.
“I really wanted to hide a tragedy in a comedy and I really wanted to trick people,” Waller-Bridge has said of “Fleabag.” “I love the idea of disarming an audience through comedy and making them feel safe, and in turn making them vulnerable to twists and turns that they might not be expecting from a character. It was one of the most important things I was trying to maintain in the TV show.”
“I can’t wait to bring the original ‘Fleabag’ to New York! It’s a dream come true,” Waller-Bridge commented in a statement. “We couldn’t think of a more perfect home than the SoHo Playhouse, and we wouldn’t be here at all without the awesome team at Annapurna. This is going to be SO MUCH FUN.”
Waller-Bridge is the creator of BBC America spy story “Killing Eve.” The Emmy-nominated Sandra Oh-starrer has been renewed for a second season. The “Goodbye Christopher Robin” actress has a show in the works at HBO with Jones, “Run.” “Godless'” Merritt Wever will topline the comedic thriller about a family woman underwhelmed by her humdrum existence. The opportunity to start life anew presents itself when her former lover contacts her in the hopes that she’ll make good on an old promise: the exes once agreed that they’d disappear together if either texted the word “run.”
Tickets for the NY run of “Fleabag” are available on the play’s website.
