Let me begin by encouraging every theatre lover to support New Theatre and the plays presented there. The works offer a fresh and often queer point of view, and I have never seen a bad show there. It is an underappreciated venue that deserves packed houses for every single performance.
The Flea, written by James Fritz, is a surrealist exploration of the notorious Cleveland Street scandal in late 19th-century London. Young telegram boy Charlie Swinscow gets busted by the police with 14 shillings in his pocket. The twist? He didn’t steal it. That cash was payment for his body, sold to a wealthy aristocrat at a secret gay brothel with ties to the Royal family, including Queen Victoria’s grandson Prince Eddy. Starting with a petty arrest, the story spirals into something much more significant as Charlie and his hard-working mother get caught in the middle of a national scandal that shakes the very foundations of the British Empire under the reign of Queen Victoria.
Based on a true story, The Flea is a wild, unfiltered, unpredictable journey through power, deception, and disgrace. The play opens with Charlie’s mother – Emily Swinscow, a tired, worn-out, working-class mother, played directly to the audience by Sofie Divall, setting the scene and acting as narrator. Divall is believable and, as Emily, garners significant sympathy from the audience. Throughout the play’s two acts, she demonstrates fantastic versatility. Her breakdown as the second act reaches its climax is heart-wrenching. She also plays Queen Victoria in the second act, and her conversations with God prove Divall to have spot-on comic timing and very proficient in wringing every laugh out of Thursday’s opening night audience.
Samuel Ireland as Charile Swinscow, and later as the Prince of Wales, also shows diversity and range. His sweet, innocent naivety later turns to fear and desperation, and ultimately, his character becomes an empty shell after being betrayed by his mother. Ireland’s comedic Prince of Wales also shows him to be adept at understanding and delivering comedy. In fact, all five actors in this superb ensemble cast (Divall and Ireland with James Collins, Mark Salvestro and Jack Elliot Mitchell) show diversity not only in their ability to deliver multiple roles believably but also work cohesively as a collective under the masterful direction of Patrick Kennedy who has put his unique stamp over every aspect of this tight production.
Kennedy’s direction of this surrealist fever dream could have been confusing, but somehow all of the elements of this production, including the impressive multi-level set (overwhelmingly red and black with sharp angles, ramps and platforms) designed by Kennedy himself, along with the costumes, which at times have elements of absurdism, the makeup design which made the majority of the cast (except for Molly and Queen Victoria) look like they were seeing the world through rose coloured glasses. The clever video segments and musical interludes, which make the scene transition seamlessly, all come together to make sense somehow.
Kennedy is emerging as one of the country’s most “fascinating theatre practitioners” according to British Theatre and I would love to see him reinvent a musical theatre piece in the future (in the same way British director Jamie Lloyd has done on both the West End and Broadway with Sunset Boulevard) and put a surrealist or absurdist twist on a classic from the musical theatre cannon. If I may make a rather bold suggestion here, a Sondheim piece would be ideal fodder for the Patrick Kennedy treatment.
The Flea is perfect for the Mardi Gras season and is surprisingly relevant in the current geopolitical climate. It is thought-provoking, insightful, emotive and highly entertaining. It evokes a time when it was punishable by law to be queer and when there was very little in the way of acceptance and tolerance from the majority of society. As far as we have come, The Flea left me wondering if, as a society, we might be starting to slip backward. The Flea by James Fritz, directed by Patrick Kennedy and presented as part of the Mardi Gras + festival, is playing at the New Theatre, Newtown, through 8 March.
Photos © Chris Lundie
In his past lives, Damien was a drag queen and musical theatre actor. He made his stage debut as a fat cow in a school production of Joseph in 1984. He holds a BA with a major in drama from the University of Newcastle. He is completely obsessed with musical theatre – especially Broadway divas.
Since relocating to Sydney at the beginning of 2024, he attends every musical he can get to and lives with his partner and grumpy 12-year-old poodle.
His claim to fame is that he once met Patti Lupone in New York and she was nice to him.