History is a mine of untold stories. The reasons why one is told and others remain silent are no doubt many and varied.  Fame and notoriety in one era fade into obscurity in another, until perhaps the zeitgeist of one catches the tail of another before it disappears beyond recall. The story of Mary Bryant is hardly a story for our time, capital punishment for what we might now call misdemeanours and commutability via transportation have gone the way of slavery and child labour, but the spirit of the 18^th century petty thief or, more romantically, ‘highway woman’, mark her out as a universal icon for all times. Thanks to the detective work of Judith Cook in her book, To Brave Every Danger, the story of indefatigable fortitude has been released from the indifference of centuries and is now brought energetically to life in Bec Applebee’s one-woman show at the Tobacco Factory (via the Minack Theatre).

Out of what is a pretty grim set of ‘adventures’ Ms. Applebee conjures humour and pathos as she charts the life journey of her wide-eyed and fatalistic heroine. Sentenced to death for the theft of a bonnet she subsequently finds herself bound for the penal colony of Botany Bay. Here the privations and depredations suffered at the hands of other convicts and military personnel become intolerable and escape is a long planned for salvation. The eventual sea voyage with her children and a small band of other convicts is itself an epic achievement one could measure against those of Shackleton et al. In its telling Bec Applebee uses all the skills she has honed in a career which includes time with the sadly lamented Kneehigh Theatre. Imaginative use of minimal props, an easy physicality and a sweet singing voice are the stock-in-trade of devised theatre practitioners and Ms Applebee gives us a masterclass in their use.

For Mary and her crew, brief celebrity in a Dutch colony as survivors of a supposed shipwreck, quickly leads to discovery, recapture and return to England. Back in London Scottish lawyer, James Boswell, recently celebrated for his biography of Dr. Johnson, makes a cause célèbre of her case which leads to her eventual acquittal, a small mercy for someone who has lost husband and children during her long return.

The production suffers from a little rust after the long Covid lay-up, but will no doubt soon regain the pace needed to tighten up the odd break in flow. Such technicalities aside Ms. Applebee is to be congratulated for bringing to the stage Mary Bryant’s life which must surely be a contender for big screen treatment.    ★★★☆☆    Graham Wyles    13^th June 2021