Solo on Stage: Kim Hee-ra Shifts Between Humor and Self-Loathing in ‘Fleabag’
Creatrip Team
a month ago
Review: The one-woman play Fleabag, by English writer-performer Phoebe Waller-Bridge, opened in Korea (first local production) at Doosan Art Center. Actress Kim Hee-ra (37) performs a 90-minute solo role as Fleabag, a woman haunted by guilt after her friend Boo’s death. The character masks pain with sexual jokes, recklessness and sharp humor while breaking the fourth wall to involve the audience. Scenes range from comic (dropping a cucumber to flirt) to raw confessions about exploitation and deep self-loathing. Director Ryu Ju-yeon says the play explores lack, love and recovery; its central question—are people allowed to accept their mistakes like an eraser on a pencil?—asks whether Fleabag can rewrite her life. (Fleabag: colloquial English for “a messy or troubled person”.) Performances run through Sept 6.
