Review: Queen Bette (King's Head Theatre)

Review by Dan Sinclair

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bette Davis (and her signature eyes) is one of the icons of classic Hollywood, she was simultaneously the jezzebl and Southern Belle of the golden age and has earned the prestigious title of a gay icon. Queen Bette, a one-woman show from G.bod Theatre takes us through her life and paints a fragile picture of the beloved actress. Frequently performed across Australia, it makes its London debut at the Kings Head. Co-created by Bette herself, Jeanette Cronin and established LGBTQ+ director, Peter Mountford, it captures Bette in all her excess. 

The majority of the play is spent in the period between The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) and The Virgin Queen (1955). Both featuring her portrayals of Queen Elizabeth I, the monarch seems to speak to Bette on a level; they’re both unconventional, admired, powerful and relied upon for stability. When the story reached her Hollywood heyday, this is when it came alive, the highs and lows are strongest here; from her string of marriages - even the lavender ones, hints to her relationship with Crawford and her run ins with the Warner Brothers, it makes great drama. 

As a piece of theatre, it plays it very safe, it takes us through Bette’s childhood and her early career right up to 1955 - already an icon, her life is just getting started. The script and direction from Mountford comfortably takes us through this period, but it lacked an edge to elevate it beyond an autobiographical run down. Not to say that Bette’s life was not eventful, my god far from it, but I just found myself wanting something more, something bolder, something more fitting for Cronin’s electric performance.

Cronin’s version of Bette is full of life, eccentric and bouncing off the walls. She has a charming clownish energy, taking us through her life story with real enthusiasm. In this however, is a big problem, I honestly struggled to catch a fair chunk of the text itself. Whilst Cronin nailed the iconic East Coast/Translantic drawl, this combined with a rapid pace made it very hard to follow her storytelling. It was in the quieter, more delicately paced moments then that she got to shine. 

Harrie Hogan’s technical design was a standout feature of the performance. It was endlessly experimental in its use of space, being bold enough to just light Bette’s face in an almost pin sized spotlight. It cast shadows across the stage, threw colour everywhere. It had a cinematic quality to it and elevated many scenes to a new height. 

For fans of the Hollywood icon, it’s well worth buying a ticket and enjoying the company of Bette Davis for 75 minutes. For those less swatted up on her filmography and life, it’s worth a quick google beforehand. 

Queen Bette is playing at the Kings Head Theatre till 23rd November.

Tickets from: https://kingsheadtheatre.com/whats-on/queen-bette/book