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The Flea
July 1889, London. A flea bites a rat. A rat spooks a horse. A horse kicks a man. As the chain reaction continues, a boy and his mother find themselves swept up in a national scandal that will reshape both their lives – and the country.
James Fritz's play The Flea is a retelling of the Cleveland Street Scandal that shook England – from the streets of Bermondsey to the halls of Buckingham Palace – and features a flea, a horse, a detective, a queen, a pimp, a god, and Charlie, the telegraph boy who knelt before the Crown.
This anarchic and affecting play was first performed at The Yard Theatre, London, in October 2023, directed by Artistic Director Jay Miller.
James Fritz's play The Flea is a retelling of the Cleveland Street Scandal that shook England – from the streets of Bermondsey to the halls of Buckingham Palace – and features a flea, a horse, a detective, a queen, a pimp, a god, and Charlie, the telegraph boy who knelt before the Crown.
This anarchic and affecting play was first performed at The Yard Theatre, London, in October 2023, directed by Artistic Director Jay Miller.
138 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 19, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 30, 2024
4.5, rounded down.
Oddly, half of this playwright's plays which I've read I have given 4 stars to - the rest, only 2 stars. So looks like this belongs in the 'yay' column. It's a somewhat fictionalized retelling of the Cleveland Street Scandal of 1889, utilizing only 5 actors to play some 15 roles ... including Queen Victoria and God! Quite witty and entertaining, while also emphasizing how lives were ruined under the draconian anti-sodomy laws.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn8GC...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSd8r...
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/202...
https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/th...
https://www.timeout.com/london/theatr...
https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/the...
https://theatreweekly.com/review-the-...
https://todolist.london/review-the-fl...
Oddly, half of this playwright's plays which I've read I have given 4 stars to - the rest, only 2 stars. So looks like this belongs in the 'yay' column. It's a somewhat fictionalized retelling of the Cleveland Street Scandal of 1889, utilizing only 5 actors to play some 15 roles ... including Queen Victoria and God! Quite witty and entertaining, while also emphasizing how lives were ruined under the draconian anti-sodomy laws.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn8GC...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSd8r...
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/202...
https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/th...
https://www.timeout.com/london/theatr...
https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/the...
https://theatreweekly.com/review-the-...
https://todolist.london/review-the-fl...
May 15, 2024
A really major play, I think, and the best kind of historical romp.
January 15, 2025
No proper review but this is the best play I’ve read in a loooooooooong time. Despite the industry I’m in I can find plays so much more difficult and unenjoyable to read than fiction books but this was an absolutely ROMP!
December 30, 2023
funny, sad, and a great blend of historical fact and contemporary humour
March 30, 2024
LOVED this. So special. Wish I’d seen it!!!
November 24, 2024
Quick pace, engaging characters, vivid dialogue and the stakes keep on rising. Would love to see it.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews