Betsy: Wisdom of a Brighton Whore.
In this 90 minute drama of Victorian poverty, exploitation and abuse a star emerges. It’s a deeply dark tale told in explicit and uncompromising terms. It’s confrontational, aggressive and bleak and for any actor a massive undertaking. Fortunately for this Fringe production the role is in the safe hands of Isabella McCarthy Somerville. It’s not the first time she has played the part having presented it before COVID in the cellars of the Old Ship Hotel, a production that I also experienced and say experienced as there is no way you can simply watch this tour-de-force.
Betsy is no more than a child at the start, the product of poverty, the workhouse and the church. She does what she has to do to survive and it’s a gritty picture of a world where the privileged few take full advantage of the disadvantaged. Betsy is fiery, sexually charged and confident… to a measure, but beneath that brutal exterior lies a fragility and sadness. As the story unfolds she falls for one of her tricks, a gentleman, in name only. She hopes for more but in truth she is no more than a chattel to him and he certainly doesn’t want to know anything more of her real life and miserable existence.
The writer paints a very dark picture of Victorian Brighton, dirty, violent and one of stark contrasts too, the upper classes drinking wine and riding in fine carriages. All this is brought vividly to life with an illustrative soundscape, but the real art comes from this very fine young actor who from the very start delivers a full on and in your face performance that pins you to your seat and spares no one. She dispenses discomfort and horror in equal measure but also invokes sympathy as we experience her terrible decline. It’s not for the faint hearted for sure but it is piece of theatre that should be seen by audiences to reveal the real hardships and decisions that young women were forced to make to survive. Isabella McCarthy Somerville owns this role and deserves to be seen and rewarded for an exceptional piece of work.
Andrew Kay
Brighton Fishing Museum Loft
4 June
Rating: 
