A Hollywood queen sets the stage, resplendent in skirts puffed out with large petticoats, vigour, and the knowledge that she once sat on the throne of society. Meet our protagonist, Bette, Peter Mountford and Jeanette Cronin's incarnation of the Hollywood star, Bette Davis. Her career turbulent and fascinating, she managed to achieve the status of a Hollywood legend. Queen Bette recounts Bette's rise to stardom and the fall from grace and everything in between. It recounts her battle to make the stage then the screen, her rejection from Universal Studios, her boom with Warner Brothers, and her bold stance for artistic independence that premeditated her downfall. It is a pleasure to see Bette's story told from the eyes of Bette, acted through with all the melodrama that such a boisterous character may assume.
The Old 505 is one of Sydney's standout independent theatre venues, and its varied, many-splendored programme brings this to the fore. Queen Bette will appeal to a demographic who remembers Bette Davis, or to those interested in Hollywood's Golden Age. While Jeanette Cronin delivers an inspired performance and demonstrates a formidable range, a prior engagement with the content is necessary to get the most out of the 80-minute performance. The piece is authentic and paints the picture of Hollywood society, but those names and references that do so may ring hollow on younger ears.
Its structure and narrative are well honed and interesting but its shortfall is the niche audience to which it plays to. All credit to Mountford and Cronin, some audiences will struggle to be fully engaged from go to woe.
