Type – Dramatic comedy
If you liked – Feud: Bette and Joan, ‘Golden age of Hollywood’ films, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Bette & Joan: Hilarious, bitchy, and deeply moving for lovers of the golden age of Hollywood. From its glitz to its tragedy
The golden age of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s was built on glamour, gossip and grandeur. The high-octane rivalry between its two greatest female stars, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, both sustained, and sustained by, the studios that controlled them. Anton Burge’s play Bette & Joan captures this legendary friction with wit, empathy, and razor-sharp dialogue. It transcends mere celebrity gossip and gives us a poignant meditation on aging, ambition, and the cost of stardom in the ruthless Hollywood machine.
The play is set in 1962 during the filming of Robert Aldrich’s What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, the only time the two iconic stars shared the screen. At this time, the women were considered ‘washed up’ and unemployable and Aldrich struggled to find a studio to back his project. On its release, however, the film was a runaway success and has since become something of a cult classic.
What makes Bette & Joan so rewarding are the marvellous performances of Jeanette Cronin as Bette, and Lucia Mastrantone as Joan. They have studied their characters well, and have captured perfectly their vocal delivery and physical mannerisms, without slipping into caricature. Cronin’s Bette is the unapologetic “actor’s actor”—brash, chain-smoking, and fiercely protective of her hard-won independence from the studio machine. She views Joan’s obsession with lighting and “star quality” with a mixture of amusement and disdain. Mastrantone’s Joan, conversely, is the epitome of the manufactured studio star, with her famous buttoned-up manner, meticulous and elegant. As they prepare for their scenes, they lob verbal grenades and trade barbs about past films and husbands. Liesel Badorrek’s subtle direction keeps them warily circling each other, always at arm’s length, whilst giving both the chance to upstage the other for comic relief.
The production is framed in the style of a 1940s film and all elements work in harmony, from Ross Johnston’s composition which beautifully echoes the type of dramatic orchestral soundtrack of the era, to Cameron Smith’s larger-than-life video projections which enhance the cinematic feel perfectly, even down to the black and white opening and closing credits. There are plenty of insider references to keep us film buffs happy, and plenty of bittersweet laughs.
Grace Deacon’s set provides a clever structure that also maps the thematic progression of the characters. In Act 1, they sit side by side at their cluttered dressing room tables facing the audience. In the second act, their tables face each other. Beneath the savage one-liners, we see two women who are essentially two sides of the same coin. Both are fighting to survive in an industry that has no use for older women. In their soliloquies, we hear their exhaustion, as they are both aware that they need this film, and each other, to stage a comeback. The play’s strength lies in its moments of vulnerability, as the characters grapple with their internal demons as much as their professional rivalry.
Is Bette & Joan Worth Seeing in Sydney?
Ultimately, Bette & Joan is a love letter to the female stars of a bygone era of filmmaking. It is hilarious, bitchy, and deeply moving. It is an essential watch for anyone who loves the golden age of Hollywood, for all its glamour as well as its tragedy.
Tickets and Practical Info for Bette & Joan in Sydney 🎟️
By Anton Burge
Directed by Liesel Badorrek
Ensemble Theatre, Kirribilli
Until 25 April 2026
Tickets: https://boxoffice.ensemble.com.au/
CREATIVE TEAM
Director/Sound Designer Liesel Badorrek
Set and Costume Designer Grace Deacon
Lighting Designer Kelsey Lee
Composer and Sound Designer Ross Johnston
Video Designer Cameron Smith
CAST
Jeanette Cronin
Lucia Mastrantone
