Virginia Woolf once said that women writers needed a room of their own. But it was Phoebe Waller-Bridge who came up with a system to preserve the sanctity of that space.
PWB lives with her sister Isobel — the composer of the music for Fleabag — and together they have come up with some fruit-themed code words to gauge whether the other sibling needs space or privacy.
While sitting in her bedroom in London in the wee small hours, PWB told Stephen Colbert that the code words translate as "get the hell out of the kitchen". Essentially, there's only one communal space in the house she shares with her sister. So, if one or other requires that space, or wishes to enter the bedroom of the other sibling, they must first say: "lemon?"
"If she came into this room now — I don't know why she'd have to use my bedroom — but if she came in now, she would look at me and go 'lemon?' which means 'can i come in?' or 'are you working?'"
She explained that if she responds with a terse 'lemon', that means 'get out.' "If i say 'pear' that means 'sure! come in and hang out!'"
Why do lemons and pears hold such weight in the Waller-Bridge household? "I don't know why we landed on those, they were the friendly fruits," she explained.
Topics Stephen Colbert Celebrities
