★★★
Inspired by anecdotes from memoirs, movies and interviews, Peter Mountford and Jeanette Cronin devise a love letter to a Hollywood superstar that doesn’t quite hit its mark.
Queen Bette, directed by Mountford, is a one-woman show that explores the life of the incomparable Bette Davis. The play crashes into action with a cantankerous Bette (Cronin) storming on stage in a mismatch of Hollywood glamour and Elizabethan garb. She breaks out into a monologue, from The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, with her signature dramatic gusto and ends with a cheeky, prideful look to her spectators. The audience of King’s Head Theatre have just met their Queen.
The production neatly bookends the tale of the Hollywood starlet through highlighting her similarities to a character she visited twice in her career, Queen Elizabeth I. The story’s centre, however, focuses solely on Ruth Elizabeth Davis, a young woman from Massachusetts with unbridled talent, Herculean ambition, and a fierce devotion to those she loves. Generally, the production is tightly organised and weaves between Davis’ professional and personal struggles with dexterity, though there are points that lack clarity. Nevertheless, Mountford does an excellent job at bringing Davis’ unwavering perseverance to the forefront of her story.
As for Cronin, she is Bette reincarnate. Not only are their looks spectacularly similar but she also conjures up Bette’s grandiose nature with utmost conviction. Cronin plays Bette masterfully while also taking a turn in a few of Davis’ most iconic roles. Her performance is really a celebration of both Davis’ and her own dramatic talent as she enchants her audience into transfixed silence. Though a superb imitation, Cronin’s magnetism is purely her own.
It certainly has the components of a great production, and Cronin and Mountford’s admiration for Davis is enjoyably clear, yet it felt like there was room for more. With a 75-minute running time, parts of Davis’ life story felt skimmed over, as if we were watching a summary rather than an exploration. This was particularly noticeable during Davis’ more vulnerable moments, such as the battles she faced against Hollywood Studios, which required more depth. Queen Bette captured the actor’s majesty perfectly yet her ever-so-crucial humanity felt slightly overlooked.
The play ends before Davis even reaches her career highpoint, which she makes very clear to her audience. Davis promises her return with a villainous charm and walks away in heroic triumph. The lowly actress has finally become Queen of Hollywood. While Queen Bette didn’t turn me into a devout subject, it has nonetheless sparked an interest in the life of this remarkable woman.
Queen Bette will run at King’s Head Theatre until 23 November.
Words by Harriet Macdonald
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