Bette & Joan

The play itself was written by Anton Burge who has written numerous plays focused on women. Bette & Joan has been performed internationally and toured extensively in the UK.

The play revolves around the rivalry between the silver-screen icons of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.

The production team were led by Paul Steventon-Marks leading to a highly successful outcome for all. The set itself was very basic, but this is what Paul wanted to portray to enable the actors to become more important than the set itself, this worked exceptionally well.

The two actors were on stage for the whole of the performance and must be commended for their ability to remember all their lines.

One could not single out either of them for their performance as both were good character actors, portraying easily the feud between both Bette and Joan. Carol Deakin as Bette Davis gave us a good example of how she would have been in regards to Joan and Sue Portsmouth exactly the same. You could imagine being in the dressing rooms with each of them both sniping and criticising the other.

Both Carol and Sue held their accents throughout the play but there was a difference in dress, Joan appeared smart while Bette appeared rather scruffy and more interested in the alcohol and cigarettes. They concentrated on not everyone is your friend in Hollywood and you need to look after yourself.

The Director used to very good effect the wheelchair that was on stage, also some dramatic lighting when Bette was talking about her mother.

This play was well performed and directed; it was a shame that there were a number of spaces within the auditorium.

Well done to all

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