73 Questions With Phoebe Waller-Bridge | Vogue

Phoebe Waller-Bridge answers 73 rapid-fire questions about Fleabag, her creative process, and personal insights in this Vogue interview.

Key Takeaways

Fleabag was inspired by Phoebe's 20s cynicism and female rage.
Writing from a single point of view allows deep psychological exploration.
Phoebe balances acting and writing, missing the camera presence when not acting.
Her creative process involves panic and hope, with advice to read and connect during ruts.
She values humor, authenticity, and personal connection in both work and life.

What the video covers

Phoebe Waller-Bridge discusses the origins and success of Fleabag, including its theatrical roots.
She shares insights on female rage and her approach to writing from a singular point of view.
Phoebe talks about her experiences acting versus writing, and the challenges of breaking the fourth wall.
She reveals favorite words, podcasts, artists, and her creative process described as 'panic, panic, hope.'
Phoebe shares personal anecdotes about gifts, pet peeves, and advice from her mother.
She discusses her upcoming off-Broadway debut and her hopes for audience members like Glenn Close.
Phoebe reflects on humor differences between British and American comedy and her favorite idioms.
She touches on her beauty philosophy, style inspirations, and how she unwinds.
Phoebe answers questions about dating, career pressure, and how she handles creative ruts.
The interview ends with lighthearted questions about London, favorite insults, and her relationship with Donald Glover.

Chapters

What inspired Phoebe Waller-Bridge to create Fleabag?

Phoebe was inspired by the cynicism she felt in her 20s and wanted to explore a character she could relate to, particularly focusing on female rage.

How does Phoebe describe her writing process?

She describes her writing process with three words: panic, panic, hope, emphasizing the mix of anxiety and optimism that drives her creativity.

Will Phoebe Waller-Bridge be performing Fleabag off-Broadway for the first time?

Yes, this will be her first time performing Fleabag on stage in New York, and she hopes to see notable audience members like Glenn Close.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

Speaker A

And the guinea pig took off her knee pants, got off her skateboard, and said, "You, thank you." Oh, great crowd! Wow, what a rousing performance. Hi, Joe. All right, all right, this is how we say hello. Oh, all right. Well, I'm here to ask you 73 questions.

Speaker A

All right, so what material am I walking in on right now? This is a rehearsal of Fleabag, the play. And what's the significance of this theater that we're in right now? This is the very same space I ever did the first preview of Fleabag.

Speaker A

And what's the most memorable theatrical moment that you've had in this theater? In quite an early performance, I was performing right here, and there was a girl sat in the front row who laughed so hard at jokes that her boob came out.

Speaker A

Okay then. Well, Fleabag is now a massive hit, and I'm a huge fan. Thank you. Where did the concept for the show come from? I think I was really inspired by the cynicism I was feeling in my 20s and then also wanting to

Speaker A

play a character I could really relate to and also touch on female rage. How did you define female rage? Uncontrollable, violent female anger. And Killing Eve is another show that I'm a big fan of. Thank you. How would you

Speaker A

condense that series into a quick little soundbite? Murder, murder, hair. Now, which do you prefer: writing for multiple points of view or writing from a singular point of view? Um, I do like writing from a single point of view

Speaker A

because it means you really have to delve into the psychology of one person. How different or difficult was that to write without also acting? It was kind of a relief to begin with, but then I did start to miss it. And when talking about

Speaker A

Fleabag, I heard you said it was hard to not look at the camera. Does it feel good to be in front of the camera again? Money means this is not—this is just your face, isn't it? Oh, just toughening you. Of course, it's my face. There's no camera here.

Speaker A

Give me those. Bye, guys. Thanks so much. Great 4:10 rehearsal. So, Fleabag's a show that I binge recently. What's a show that you've been recently? Homecoming. What's your dream role in Mud? And I really like to play someone who folks up in the wilds. I like raised by

Speaker A

animals. What's your favorite word in the English dictionary? Trumpets. Favorite podcast in the podcast pantheon? Guilt and Shame and Guilty Feminists. Just anything with the word guilt in it. Favorite artist? My name agreed. Favored artistic moment in the

Speaker A

history of all art? In the history of all odds, you was a favorite British idiom? Never look a gift horse in the house. In the house in the mouth. Favorite American idiom? I'm just gonna circle back. Biggest difference between American and British

Speaker A

humor? Um, I think if it's really truly funny, that really shouldn't be a difference. What's one thing fans would be shocked to learn about you? I didn't write any of it. Would you consider stand-up ever? Yeah. Can you tell me a joke fast? Tattle baby. You are staging the

Speaker A

world's biggest art heist. What lie did you tell the security guard to let you into the museum? I am the main security guard. So I could see you're on your way out. What do you have planned for the rest of the day? I'm gonna go into the Fleabag

Speaker A

edit the final day. Oh, I cannot wait for that. You find yourself in a plane. Do you take the window or aisle? Window. Find yourself on the train. Are you riding backwards or forwards? Mmm. How do you unwind? Oh, sleep. Who is your favorite

Speaker A

designer right now? Gavin. He designed my amazing liquid red thing from the Golden Globes. Who's the most stylish fictional person? Doesn't help. Who is the most stylish real person? Bill Nighy. What would you consider to be your beauty philosophy? Ah, don't even think. Well, save eyebrows. Can you tell me a PG

Speaker A

rated version of the most R-rated story that you have? Well, I did do a play here upstairs when I was in a bath naked with somebody for—I don't think there was a PG version of this. Dorothy, move on. This is Maddie who played Fleabag in the tour. Very cool.

Speaker A

Hey, Maddie. Hey, Maddie. Hi. Favorite gift you've ever received? Oh, build your own gingerbread house. I got this Christmas from my mom, and then I also got a really beautiful bracelet's box of it. Yeah. Favorite gift you've ever

Speaker A

given? I gave my brother a record, and I had recorded all of his friends singing happy birthday and sending lovely messages to him on it. Was reaching for that. What was it? Biggest pet peeve? Rudeness. Okay, I see the workstation over here. Can

Speaker A

you tell me what you're currently working on? No. Come on. Knows. No. What three words describe your writing process? Panic, panic, hope. And what is a crucial aspect to your creative process? Mm-hmm. Panic and hope. What would you say to

Speaker A

anyone in a creative rut? Reads and walk around. Get out of bed and call someone who can complain about your rut. Okay, show me a hit in town and then what? Okay, that is weirding me out. Creepy. Yes, tremendously so. What's the best

Speaker A

description of London that you've heard? I mean, that it's a lovely country. What's your favorite thing about Soho? Oh, very people just open doors to you. Thank you. The seven noses of Soho. And what's the most English thing that I can

Speaker A

do while I'm here? Apologize for everything. What's your favorite insult? Can you bleep it out because Americans really don't like this word? Favorite quote? We write to taste life twice, which is the hardest in a limitations are accents. Imitations are. You good at imitations? Hmm, no. I don't believe it for

Speaker A

a second. And you're pals with Donald Glover? Yeah. What's he like to work with? He's adorable. Kitten. Can you tell me something about him that absolutely no one in the world knows? No. Why would I do that? Okay, so we have a British red phone

Speaker A

booth. Yeah, people don't actually use these anymore. Oh, they do, but may need to urinate and to call out prostitutes. Who said Fleabag is not autobiographical? But what would you say are your biggest similarities with her as a character? Deep down, she's

Speaker A

a hopeless romantic. And what's your favorite thing about her? She lives to make you laugh. And it's going off-Broadway. Yes. Will this be your first time performing on stage in New York? Yeah. Who is someone you love to see in that

Speaker A

audience? Glenn Close. What dating advice would you give to anyone who's single right now? Always smell good. What's the worst first date you've ever had? Someone who was more boring than they were hot. Does that make sense? How'd you like to be remembered? For my favorite lamp, Edison, making people off.

Speaker A

And who would you ask 73 questions to? Rasputin. Thank you. Do you normally get recognized on the street? Yes. Peaceful ambiance. Uh, we have here. How do you handle pressure in your career? Um, I think I feed off it. Do you have any regrets in life? No. What are

Speaker A

some of the best advice that you've ever given or received? And my mum's always give me the best advice, and there was one in particular when I remember. It's me when I was younger. One day, darling, you'll walk into a room and there'll be somebody there who

Speaker A

you're very attracted to, and you might just wanna have sex with them immediately. They might want to have sex with you, me too, but that doesn't mean you have to. It's good advice. Now, what's the best advice that you've completely ignored?

Speaker A

Don't eat that. What's a question you generally detest being asked? What's it like being a woman in comedy? What's it like being a woman in this industry? What's it like being a woman? What's the question that you want to be asked more?

Speaker A

Um, are you a model? Do allow me to ask that question. All right, so we're in a park called A Park. Tell me something a little bit about this park. And this is where I always end up off to gay pride. Where did you grow up, Evie? I grew up in Ealing. How do you

Speaker A

describe your upbringing? Loud, loving, and spatula. Look at that. Oh, look at that doggy. I knew that. So cute. Oh, you doing something behind my back? A morning person or a night person? What are you? Night. Pilates, yoga? Oh, yoga. Jogging or swimming? Jogging.

Speaker A

Very random. We're at a party. It's a good party. Karaoke happens. What do you do? Take it very seriously. And I heard you have a theory about song selections. Yeah, I think you can tell an awful lot about as a woman could tell.

Speaker A

person by how they conduct themselves in a karaoke session what would you pick he's a from Lady the whoo that's a good selection when a dad should always go Frank Sinatra that's right baby yeah last question before you head to your appointment would you be available

Speaker A

to give some feedback on a script oh yeah so I wasn't talking about me oh the proud of it oh my goodies should be that's excising drop me a line so good give you encouragement and read it thank you I'm really well it got the sex like you

Speaker A

think so much just a draft I can't wait to meet it is the dress so great okay Wow thanks baby bye-bye she's gonna love it

Topics:Phoebe Waller-BridgeFleabagVogue 73 Questionsfemale ragewriting processBritish comedyKilling Evecreative adviceoff-Broadwayinterview

Get More with the SozAI App

Transcribe recordings, audio files, and YouTube videos — with AI summaries, speaker detection, and unlimited transcriptions.

App Store Google Play

Or transcribe another YouTube video here →

Free tools: TXT to SRT · SRT Validator · Merge SRT · Subtitle to Text · All tools