The Flea (NHB Modern Plays)

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 is a playwright whose work includes: The Flea (Yard Theatre, London, 2023);Lava (Nottingham Playhouse/Fifth Word, 2018; revived 2022);Parliament Square (Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, and Bush Theatre, London, 2017);Start Swimming (Young Vic Taking Part, Edinburgh Fringe, 2017);The Fall (National Youth Theatre at the Finborough Theatre, London, 2016);Comment is Free (Old Vic New Voices, 2015; BBC Radio 4, 2016; winner of the Imison and Tinniswood Awards for audio drama, 2017);Ross & Rachel (MOTOR at Assembly George Square, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2015; 59E59 Theaters, New York);Four Minutes Twelve Seconds (Hampstead Theatre, 2014; Most Promising Playwright, Critics' Circle Awards);Lines (Rosemary Branch Theatre, 2011).