Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Stephen Colbert may be self-isolating amid the novel coronavirus, but the actress and late-night host couldn't help but take a trip down memory lane during Thursday night's The Late Show.
Joining the late-night host via video chat from her London home, the Fleabag star reflected on how the last time she saw Colbert was when he presented her with the Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series. "That's the one I remember the most," she told Colbert. "It is the night that dreams are made of and it was just so full of love and madness... It became this one mushed up memory of friends and lights and fun. It was extraordinary. I'll never forget it."
Colbert also couldn't help but mention witnessing the creation of Waller-Bridge viral photograph that became the most talked about post-awards photograph. In the photo, Waller-Bridge is shown lounging at the Chateau Marmont in her gown after winning an armful of Emmys for Fleabag with a cocktail in one hand and cigarette in the other.
"I was with just a bunch of 6 friends and one of them took that photo and then put it on his Instagram and it just went mad. Be careful of who is taking photos of you," she said laughing of the reaction to the photo.
The night the photo was taken, Colbert recalled seeing Waller-Bridge surrounded by a "throng of people" and, at first, didn't want to bother her. However, after deciding to say hello, Colbert remembered explaining to her how he was bragging to his staff that she gave him a peck on the cheek after presenting her with her Emmy award. "I felt like I won the Emmys that night," Colbert said, before adding the moment that their interaction ended. "And at that exact moment a very, I'm sure nice well-meaning person came up to me to give his opinion of something I should do on my show and in front of you I turn to him and say 'Not now!'"
After turning his attention back to Waller-Bridge, Colbert admitted the actress had "moved on to more glamorous fields." Waller-Bridge then joked that her attention was focused on the food being passed around.
Later on, Waller-Bridge discussed how being quarantined in London with her older sister has been going ("we're being very civilized," she shared) and reacted to Queen Elizabeth's recent televised address, only her fifth given in her 68-year reign.
"It was really extraordinary. Whatever people think about the Queen or the Royal family... there was a real moment of gratuitous. She ended it with the most epic sentence," Waller-Bridge said, referring to the Queen's ending line of "we will meet again." "I mean it was so badass," Waller-Bridge said.
Despite being at home in London, Waller-Bridge went on to explain that it's not stopping her from trying to help the theater community — all broadway shows have been shut down until June amid the virus crisis.
"When all the theaters closed in the U.K. and I think around the same time in the U.S., me and the Fleabag team started talking about how we could do something to help the theater community but also the wider community. Basically how we could just raise money. We had in our back pocket the National Theatre Live recording of the play," she said.
Though the recording was streamed on some cinemas, Waller-Bridge says it "hasn't ever been on TV and has never been able to be streamed or anything."
"We've now managed to put the show online, this one-off recorded performance online to be streamed for a minimum of five dollars and all the proceeds from it goes to charities to support people working on the frontline of the coronavirus pandemic," Waller-Bridge announced. Proceeds will also be donated to Broadway Cares, a charity aimed to assist those in the theatre community in need.
The 17-minute Fleabag: Live monologue, which Waller-Bridge described as a "one-woman show" is available to stream on Amazon Prime. "It's basically the origins of the TV show," she explained, also describing it as "a little darker," "weirder," and "ruder" than the television version.
"We're trying to find ways to entertain people but at the same time people are trying to find ways to raise money. With this endeavor, we may have an opportunity to do both," she said. "It's really important to remember that the theatre community isn't just the glitz and glam of the West End... It's companies up and down the country working so hard to bring communities together, put on plays in school, it's the behind the scenes."
Fleabag: Live is available for purchase on Amazon Prime.
