Three women have come together to portray what might have happened in the dressing rooms of two stars: Betty Davis and Joan Crawford. Known to have a long-term feud, which came to a height during the filming of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, the actresses had to come together for the sake of the movie.
Set in their dressing rooms during the making of that film, Present Tense Productions looks at the rivalry and insecurities of the two Hollywood stars.In Bette and Joan, Belinda Findlay plays Betty Davies, Wendy Smith is the director and Claire Bleasdale takes to the stage as Joan Crawford. Teachers by day, thespians by night, the three ladies have immersed themselves in 1962 Hollywood to give us a look behind the scenes.
DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING IN COMMON WITH YOUR CHARACTER?
Claire: Joan Crawford had a very difficult early life, with poverty, rejection, sexual, physical and emotional abuse. It left her very vulnerable and easy to hurt. I’m having to act all that. But, like Joan, I want to be liked. By everybody.
Belinda: Swearing, but only under my breath.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WITH THE COMPANY PRESENT TENSE PRODUCTIONS?
Wendy: 10 years. I directed their first production which was Glengarry Glen Ross in 2007, and all but three of the remaining productions since.
Belinda: This is the second production I’ve taken part in.
WHY DO YOU ACT? WHAT DOES IT BRING TO YOUR LIFE?
Belinda: I enjoy getting to inhabit different characters, getting to say things I wouldn’t dream of saying in real life.
Claire: There is nothing better than the feeling you get when, as a team, you are making an audience laugh, or cry, or think, or feel. I also love the whole process of transforming a play from the page into living, breathing characters.
WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE ACTOR OR INSPIRATION?
Belinda: Shirley Maclaine – I love Sweet Charity, in fact, as a child, I would have longed to be in any musical.
Wendy: Francis Cosgrave really inspired my directing style when she led a NODA course that Claire and I both attended.
WHAT IS THE STAGING LIKE TO BRING ALIVE HOLLYWOOD IN 1962?
Wendy: The play is staged in the dressing rooms of a really unassuming film set, so there’s some costume from the movie, but not as glamorous as one would expect from the two leading ladies.
HAVE YOU WORKED WITH THE OTHER ACTORS AND PRODUCTION TEAM BEFORE?
Belinda: Many times; I love working with them. My first Present Tense Productions play was Iron in 2014.
Claire: Many times with Belinda and I played Nurse Ratchett in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest for Present Tense in 2011.
WHY WAS THIS PRODUCTION CHOSEN?
Wendy: Present Tense Productions had originally chosen another play, God of Carnage, but struggled to cast it. As Belinda and Claire were still keen to put on a show, we searched for a new play. With two fabulous and feisty characters, Bette and Joan sprang to the fore. It is a dramatic, funny and moving piece which I’m sure everyone will love as much as we do.
WHAT DO YOU WANT AUDIENCE MEMBERS TO EXPERIENCE AND FEEL WHEN THEY LEAVE YOUR SHOW?
Claire: As with all theatre, I want people to feel they have had real, first-hand experience of what it is to be my character – to have laughed with me, cried with me, suffered with me and triumphed with me.
Wendy: There aren’t too many plays that feature such strong women. Both are in their 50s, aware of the power they still have over others, aware too of their own acting ability. It is a timely reminder that women shouldn’t be put on the scrap heap when they hit 40, but are as fabulous as they ever were.
WHY SHOULD PEOPLE SEE IT?
Wendy: Two amazing local stars are playing two fabulous international stars in a fantastically entertaining play. What’s not to love?
Bette and Joan is at ACT in Aberdeen tonight, March 30, and tomorrow, March 31. See www.act-aberdeen.org.uk/bette–joan–29-31st-march-2017-314-c.asp
