Tag Archives: Felicity Dean

BETTE & JOAN

★★★★

Park Theatre

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BETTE & JOAN

Park Theatre

★★★★

“A stupendous performance … witty and moving”

Set conflicts, long lived feuds and a peek in the life of the big Hollywood stars. After series like Ryan Murphy’s Feud and Hollywood started swarming the media, it’s clear that audiences want to see what unfolds behind the camera lens. Bette Davis and Joan Crawford had a complicated professional relationship that had its ups and downs (mainly its downs). In Bette and Joan by Anton Burge, the actress and the movie star face each other in a battle for dominance.

The show begins with them introducing themselves and giving us a taste of their personalities in their respective dressing rooms. The exposition is necessary, but also tiring, especially if one’s familiar with the stars and their lives. But actors Greta Scacchi (who plays Bette Davis) and Felicity Dean (who plays Joan Crawford) are doing an excellent job of keeping us intrigued and absolutely hooked. They’re getting ready to shoot a scene of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, the famous picture that brought them back to the spotlight and skyrocketed both of their careers once again. The second half seems to be somewhat similar to the first, offering some electrifying moments between the actresses and some touching monologues about their respective personal lives.

It’s a trip down memory lane, which is enjoyable, but doesn’t really lead anywhere. Capturing the vast range of this relationship in two hours is impossible, but under the direction of Sue Jenkins, the actors’ great performances make us step out of the auditorium gratified. The tricky detail about this production is that it’s not enough to portray the real people accurately, but find the sweet spot of hostility and antagonism. Scacchi and Dean succeed triumphantly, as we see them separately, but also interacting, their dynamic full of fire that brings laughter to the audience. The way Dean inhabits the viper-like lady who’s always ready to strike while keeping up appearances and sticking to good manners is mesmerising, with every hand gesture being refined and elegant. Through her monologue about Crawford’s mother and upbringing she shows her highly skilled craft, contrasting Scacchi’s direct and confrontational approach.

The set, designed by Neil Gordon, is magnificent, one of the highlights of the show I dare say. A double dressing room with little details that make each side unique and that brings out the theme of duality. After all, the two stars might come from different backgrounds, but they have more in common than they want to admit, fighting bravely to make it in a cruel industry, where youth and money is one’s currency. Lighting, designed by Joe Pilling, is an interesting mixture of vanity mirror light bulbs and spotlights that focuses the audience’s attention to the appropriate side of the stage, making it easier to follow the narrative. Pip Thurlow’s sound design is minimal, which is exactly what this piece needs as we’re focusing on the words rather than distracting stylisations.

A stupendous performance that remind us that under all the glamour of Hollywood’s golden era, actors are still people, capable of being petty, competitive and deeply vulnerable. The show is witty and moving, even if at times one wishes we’d get more scenes with the actors being together, in order to get a better taste of their relationship.


BETTE & JOAN at Park Theatre

Reviewed on 5th December 2024

by Stephanie Christodoulidou

Photography by Simon Annand

 

 

 


 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

GOING FOR GOLD | ★★★★ | November 2024
THE FORSYTE SAGA | ★★★★★ | October 2024
AUTUMN | ★★½ | October 2024
23.5 HOURS | ★★★ | September 2024
BITTER LEMONS | ★★★½ | August 2024
WHEN IT HAPPENS TO YOU | ★★★★★ | August 2024
THE MARILYN CONSPIRACY | ★★★★ | June 2024
IVO GRAHAM: CAROUSEL | ★★★★ | June 2024
A SINGLE MAN | ★★★★ | May 2024
SUN BEAR | ★★★ | April 2024
HIDE AND SEEK | ★★★★ | March 2024
COWBOYS AND LESBIANS | ★★★★ | February 2024

BETTE & JOAN

BETTE & JOAN

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A Princess Undone – 3 Stars

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Princess

A Princess Undone

Park Theatre

Reviewed – 26th February 2018

★★★

“this regal rendezvous has small glimmers of brilliance but is left feeling as muddied as Princess Margaret’s name in the news”

 

The Royal Family have always been hot news, and this year in particular, is no exception. With another royal baby and a royal wedding on its way, the younger generations of the Windsor family are constantly being displayed as front-page headlines. This is nothing new. Before even the likes of Diana became tabloid fodder, there was one Royal whose name grew synonymous with gossip and scandal. Princess Margaret. Her Majesty’s sister had always been a somewhat elusive, mysterious figure, yet her name never strayed far away from the papers. In recent years, she has once again become a matter of interest, helped greatly by the overwhelming success and popularity of the Netflix series The Crown, and Ma’am Darling, last year’s best-selling biography by Craig Brown.

Now, it’s the theatre’s turn to try and get under the skin of Princess Margaret. Inspired by true events, actor Richard Stirling’s play, A Princess Undone, focuses on a particular moment within the late princess’ life where her antics were being upstaged by a new breed of royals, forcing Margaret to unwillingly retreat into the shadows. Stirling attempts to try and comprehend the ball of contradictions that the princess was wrapped within, however, the play is inconsistent in its execution of this, ultimately becoming a rather lacklustre and stuffy affair.

The year is 1993, a time when the Royal Family is struggling to keep face through its ‘annus horribilus’. Living within the apartments of Kensington Palace, Margaret (Felicity Dean) tries damage control, princess style, by enlisting the help of the Queen Mother’s butler, William Tallon (played by Stirling himself) to assist in stealing a selection of potentially scandalous letters, photographs and other personal correspondence from Clarence House – her mother’s residence. Whilst sifting through the piles of papers, ready to burn, Margaret coolly comments on her royal neighbours, whilst Tallon single-handedly deals with her haughty demands and droll remarks with assured repartee.

The witty yet stagnant first half includes the intrusion of the young Tristan (Alexander Knox), a friend of Margaret’s son, whose appearance is somewhat meaningless to the overall plot. It is not until the arrival of infamous gangster-come-playboy-come-actor, John Lindon (Patrick Toomey) that the dramatic tension starts to heat up.

There are moments within A Princess Undone where it shines, particularly within its humour. The sight of Felicity Dean in marigolds and a paper crown, smoking, drinking and prancing around to Desmond Dekker’s The Israelites on the record player, utterly personifies the Princess’ struggle between her dutiful persona and privately being conventional and problematic. However, there are also times where it feels bloated by the text, assuming that the audience has a decent knowledge of Princess Margaret’s life. Thank goodness I had flicked through the programme before the show is all I can say! Bogged down by its dialogue, this regal rendezvous has small glimmers of brilliance but is left feeling as muddied as Princess Margaret’s name in the news.

 

Reviewed by Phoebe Cole

Photography by Simon Annand

 


A Princess Undone

Park Theatre until 17th March

 

 

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