The Flea

by James Fritz

'We'll start with the flea, because that's as good a place as any...'

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.

Genres: Plays, Queer

120 pages, Paperback

Published October 19, 2023

Reviews

[Doug]

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...

[Harry McDonald]

A really major play, I think, and the best kind of historical romp.

[MattThatReads]

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!

[grace]

i saw another review that said that this play is a great blend of historical retelling and contemporary humor and i have to agree. i flew through this, i found it hilarious and tender and heartbreaking all at the same time.

[Joel Wall]

funny, sad, and a great blend of historical fact and contemporary humour

[Theo Chen]

LOVED this. So special. Wish I’d seen it!!!

[Santiago Guerra Arrangóiz]

Quick pace, engaging characters, vivid dialogue and the stakes keep on rising. Would love to see it.

[cypher]

unfortunately this was not for me. found it a bit slow paced, not really highlighting the events well, the end was also too melodramatic.