Definitely Louise - Bethany Heath

Bethany Heath’ s (almost) one woman show, Definitely Louise, explores her character’s loneliness and inner turmoil in a strong and emotive way. However, the story itself lacks clarity. Set in a dishevelled and cluttered room, props scatter the stage, most of the time to just provide a further backstory for the character, and don’t have a specific use.

Heath is undeniably a strong and versatile actor and she demonstrates that through the several tales she tells about her foul mouthed character’s acting career, recitation of monologues and observations of her experiences. Though this variety of sketches show off Heath’s incredible acting ability, they don’t string together in a coherent manner to deliver a strong storyline, and the trajectory of the play feels lost. I additionally felt that the cameo performances of two extra actors feels unnecessary.

Undoubtedly, Heath is a terrifically skilled and charismatic actor, which is hugely beneficial for this play, due to it's lack of plot. However, her writing does have  some strong moments throughout. A stand out example of this is the moment in which she demonstrates the painstaking long pause an actor is able to get away with. On the whole, her strongest moments are those in which she is comical and witty.

All in all, Bethany Heath has huge potential with her writing, Definitely Louise could be something particularly special, it just requires extra thought and refinement. Heath is a highly skilled actor which she showcases excellently all the way through the performance, her versatility and range is inarguable. Definitely Louise shows great promise and Bethany Heath is sure to go on to great things.