I’m ashamed of you all! How dare this show not be selling out every day. Here we have a one-woman play directed by Australian royalty in the form of Barry Crocker (the man who WAS Bazza McKenzie or who sung the original Neighbors theme tune amongst a glittering career), starring that delectable Dr Who assistant (who looks like skipped the last 30 years in the TARDIS) Katy Manning and about that siren of the screen Bette Davis.
The story is a cautionary tale of how it is never a good thing to meet your heroes. What’s the phrase; hell is other people? Well then imagine if the other person is an ageing Bette Davis around the time her daughter’s tell-all book is being released. Katy plays all the parts (except one, a voice over from a TV evangelist sounding very much like the director), but the story is told from the point of view of the writer, Elizabeth Fuller, to whom all this happened in 1985.
One day a friend of Elizabeth invites a special guest for dinner in the form of Ms Davis. Ms Davis rings the next day to ask if she could stay a night or two due to a hotel strike. Elizabeth, a big fan, cannot say no and Bette moves in. Well a day becomes a week becomes a fortnight and Elizabeth’s husband John is starting to lose his cool as his wife and four year old son start to take on Bette’s mannerisms and Bette’ who thrives on chaos, is not about to settle back into a quiet retirement.
So the story becomes a battle of wills to see who will leave first, and who will pay for all the phone calls, cigarettes, booze etc, etc. We have a lot of stories from Bette’s days on and off the screen plus a couple of more recent dramas, and a little bit of black magic. Katy keeps the story flowing along with barely a pause and by the end of the play, you will want to go out and watch the entire back catalogue (while listening to ‘Bette Davis Eyes’?).
Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of Ms Davis or seen any of her films, this is one of the best exposé into what goes on when a big star falls in on you and lives up to their reputation. I implore you to buy a ticket. You will not regret it.
Visit the Fringe website for bookings details.