Brighton Fishing Museum Loft, 200 King’s Road Arches – until 4th June 2022
Reviewed by Sue Bradley
5*****
Betsy is produced by Something Underground http://www.somethingunderground.co.uk/
It was written and premiered in 2013 by multi-award winning Writer/Director Jonathan Brown.
In contrast to Something Underground’s other currently touring shows, which explore the culture of the sixties and seventies, this one-act, one-woman monologue (one third of The Well Trilogy of shows) brings us a truly believable account of what a woman of humble origins might have had to endure in the early 1820’s. The workhouse, part of Betsy’s past, is mentioned several times, and as a local audience, we understand that she’s referring to the Brighton workhouse, now Brighton General Hospital. Many local place names and familiar historical figures are mentioned (even thought the Betsy character herself is fictional), which brings her story to life even more.
The term “Emotional Rollercoaster” is often over-used but in this case it can only be wholly appropriate, as Betsy tugs on our heartstrings, whilst at the same time displaying the tough, streetwise character that she needed to be.
Betsy is played by Isabella McCarthy Somerville in a confident and assured performance, switching characters and accents with apparent ease. Daring the audience to judge her right from the start, she walked a fine line, addressing us as if daring us to respond, but never holding it for so long that we became uncomfortable.
It was a very demanding physical and emotional performance, but McCarthy Somerville never let up and held us riveted throughout. During this lengthy one act piece, there was no scraping of chairs, surreptitious phone checking or other signs of audience unrest. The only other sounds came from the clever soundtrack which provided just the right amount of ambience and occasional well-judged music.
The loft of the Brighton Fishing Museum provided an excellent venue and resonated with themes of the ocean that appeared throughout the play. Coming out into the light, close to the sea and the pier, the very areas that Betsy mentioned in her story, seemed a fitting coda to the piece.
This is one of the best and most convincing one-person shows I have seen in the Brighton Fringe. The final scene brought tears to the audience, and thoughts of more personal tragedies, as she evoked the heartbreaking scene that Betsy was faced with at the end.