Fleabag Series 1, Episode 4 - British Comedy Guide (original) (raw)
Fleabag and her sister Claire reluctantly visit a female-only, silent retreat, courtesy of their father. Their enforced silence is interrupted, however, by an unusual neighbouring weekend workshop, explosive secrets coming to light, and a surprising connection with an old acquaintance.
Broadcast details
Date
Thursday 11th August 2016
Time
10am
Channel
Length
26 minutes, 53 seconds
Cast & crew
Cast
| Phoebe Waller-Bridge | Fleabag |
|---|---|
| Sian Clifford | Claire |
| Jenny Rainsford | Boo |
| Hugh Dennis | Bank Manager |
Guest cast
| Camilla Roholm | Receptionist |
|---|---|
| Jenny Galloway | Retreat Leader |
| Ben Bailey Smith | Workshop Leader |
| Adam Ewan | Nervous Man |
Writing team
| Phoebe Waller-Bridge | Writer |
|---|---|
| Vicky Jones | Script Editor |
Production team
| Harry Bradbeer | Director |
|---|---|
| Lydia Hampson | Producer |
| Harry Williams | Executive Producer |
| Jack Williams | Executive Producer |
| Phoebe Waller-Bridge | Executive Producer |
| Gary Dollner | Editor |
| Jonathan Paul Green | Production Designer |
| Kelly Valentine Hendry | Casting Director |
| Victor Jenkins | Casting Director |
| Alex Irwin | Casting Director |
| Tony Miller | Director of Photography |
| Jo Thompson | Costume Designer |
| Pippa Woods | Make-up Designer |
| Isobel Waller-Bridge | Composer |
| Helen Ostler | 1st Assistant Director |
Video
Worst road trip ever
Fleabag and Claire are off on a fun, family weekend.
Featuring: Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) & Sian Clifford (Claire).
Press
A few episodes in, there's still time to catch up with the strange, bleak, hilarious Fleabag, lurking on iPlayer. Written by and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Crashing), the eponymous heroine speaks straight to camera, and is, by turns, cynical, playful, impulsive, bitter, haunted and vulnerable, as she has casual sex with inadequate men, masturbates to Obama speeches, worries that her anus is super-sized, runs her financially ludicrous cafe business (Fleabag has the least realistic sitcom lifestyle since the cast of Friends), sponges from her uptight sister (Sian Clifford), and steals stuff from her odious stepmother (Olivia Colman, dripping passive-aggressive).
There are inevitable comparisons with Sharon Horgan and Lena Dunham, but Waller-Bridge seems determined to plough her own eldritch and mischievous furrow. Last week Fleabag attended a ghastly "Female-only 'Breath of Silence'" retreat, coming across her bank manager (Hugh Dennis) at his own grisly "Better-Man" event ("I'm just a very disappointing man").
At times, Fleabag, still grieving, flashes back to her dead best friend, at which point she's exposed as the walking, talking weeping sore she truly is. Fleabag isn't perfect (this episode was the lightest on belly laughs so far) but it's witty, textured, poignant and offbeat - a hidden gem it would be a pity to miss.