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The Flea
Cover image for The Flea

7 October - 30 November 2024

The Flea

7 October - 30 November 2024

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About

A scandal so juicy, it demands another taste.

Following a "glorious" ★★★★★ run that left audiences wanting more, The Flea returns for a second bite.

London, 1889. Charlie Swinscow, a telegraph boy, is found with 14 shillings in his pocket and arrested for theft. But Charlie didn't steal the money — he's got a secret.

A secret that pays well.

This is the true story of the Cleveland Street Scandal that shook Victorian England—from the shadowy streets of Bermondsey to the gilded halls of Buckingham Palace. The people who fought to expose it, and those who'd do anything to keep it hidden.

A thrilling tale of power, sex and deception, featuring a flea, a horse, a copper, a queen, a pimp, a god — and Charlie Swinscow. The telegraph boy whose secret threatened to bring an empire to its knees.

From writer James Fritz (★★★★ Ross & Rachel, ★★★★ Parliament Square) and directed by The Yard’s Artistic Director Jay Miller (★★★★★ The Crucible, ★★★★★ This Beautiful Future).

Photography by Marc Brenner, featuring the original cast.
The Yard Theatre
The Yard Theatre
The Yard Theatre

REVIEWS

★★★★

“Mischievous, searching, gloriously surreal new drama about a queer Victorian scandal that rocked the nation.”

Anya Ryan, Time Out

★★★★

“Wildly imaginative punk retelling of the Cleveland Street Scandal.”

Tom Wicker, The Stage

★★★★★

“A haute couture historical fever dream... a dissection of an entire era”

Grace Spencer, The Reviews Hub

“So ambitious, imaginative, and unashamedly unfettered by convention.”

Alun Hood, WhatsOnStage

“Clever, funny and imaginative.”

Popbitch

Photography by Marc Brenner, featuring the original cast.
The Yard Theatre
The Yard Theatre
★★★★★

“Uproariously funny and sparklingly imaginative”

To Do List

★★★★★

“Captivating and compelling”

Plays to See

★★★★

“Surreally bonkers”

Salterton Arts Review

★★★★

“Intoxicating”

The Spy In The Stalls

★★★★

“A darkly hilarious and unmistakably British farce.”

Everything Theatre

“I laughed and cried in quick succession.”

Lord Collins, The House

Cast & Team

Breffni Holahan
  • Emily Swinscow
  • Queen Victoria
Stefan Race
  • Henry Newlove
  • Arthur Somerset
Tomás Azocar-Nevin
  • Charlie Swinscow
  • Bertie
Will Bliss
  • Abberline
  • Hammond
  • Gladstone
Aaron Gill
  • Hanks
  • Barwell
  • Euston

Artwork photography by MOJA.
Hair & Make Up by Dominique Hamilton.
Costume by Lambdog1066.
Modelled by Brittany Ashworth.
The Yard Theatre