Bette Davis has become such a camp cultural icon that portrayals of her can easily trip into caricature. One of the things I most admired about The Bloody Ballad of Bette Davis was Annie Meek Montgomery resists that temptation. The voice, mannerisms and ever-present cigarette give us an unmistakable Bette without turning her into an impression of an impression.
Set around the making of the 1975 horror film Burnt Offerings, the musical takes the later claim by Davis’s daughter, B.D. Hyman, that her mother practised witchcraft and asks… what if she was right?
From there, things become increasingly wild. Oliver Reed, Karen Black, demons and even Amelia Earhart are thrown into a deliberately chaotic Hollywood fever dream exploring fame, ageing, motherhood and ambition.
The five-strong ensemble delivers impressive vocals and Rob Parker’s original songs are a real strength. I found myself repeatedly thinking how much I liked the music.
Unfortunately, I was also repeatedly wondering what on earth was going on.
The production’s surrealism is clearly intentional, but for me the storytelling became too chaotic to follow. More visual clarity through staging and costume might help anchor some of its rapid transformations and ideas. Amelia Earhart’s appearance, in particular, left me struggling to understand her purpose within the story.
There is considerable talent, ambition and some genuinely strong music here. I just wish I had understood more clearly what it was all trying to tell me.
The Bloody Ballad Of Bette Davi, 15:00, Assembly Roxy – Upstairs, until 27 August
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/the-bloody-ballad-of-bette-davis
