Hollywood legends portrayed on Coventry stage

Coming straight from London’s West End, Bette and Joan, starring EastEnders and Strictly Come Dancing star Anita Dobson and Emmy Award-winning actress Greta Scacchi, focuses on the relationship between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford as they perform together in the classic film Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?

The two actresses were famed for having one of the most bitter rivalries ever seen in Hollywood. Lasting more than 30 years, their taut and explosive relationship was never more evident than in the production of this 1962 film.

Set over the course of a single day, during the ‘Baby Jane’ shoot, Bette and Joan chronicles what happens to the two women as they prepare to face the cameras, each other and what goes on when the cameras stop.

Anita, perhaps best known for her role as Angie Watts in Eastenders during the 1980s, impressed television and then live audiences while taking part in ITV’s Strictly Come Dancing show and tour.

She spoke to the Courier as Bette and Joan arrived at the Belgrade stage this week.

“It’s rather like doing two one-woman shows, but they are inter-linked,” she says of the demanding task she has of playing Joan Crawford each show night.

“Older audiences get the references to Hollywood much better, but the younger ones get the bitchiness more.

“They are such great parts, it’s a joy to be a part of. I love it. It’s something I relish, so I don’t mind having to work very hard.”

The 63-year-old remembers watching “all the Hollywood greats” on her parents’ black and white television while growing up.

She says: “So for me to be able to do something like this is fabulous. I know this woman very well and I know the movies she was in.”

But Anita does not see any parallels between herself, who has been acting on the professional circuit for almost 40 years, and Joan.

She says: “Joan is very different to me. We don’t have the Hollywood system in our lives any more.

“Being glammed up in a studio is something little girls dream of, but it doesn’t really happen these days. That’s why it’s so much fun to play.

“If you like look at these beautiful creatures on the screen, it’s a world of pretence and glamour, which I love.”

Any chance we will see her on making a come-back on Eastenders?

“Eastenders was great fun,” she says, “but there were so many other things I wanted to do. It was a springboard for me. I loved playing Angie, but I live for variety and cannot imagine myself being in one role for years and years.”

But acting in different roles is definitely still on the agenda for Anita. She says: “I did say a couple of years ago that I would start to wind down, but all these great jobs came in and so here I am.

“If the moment presents itself for me to retire, then I will know, but until then, I will keep on rocking.”

Bette and Joan is showing tonight (Friday) and tomorrow at 7.45pm, with an additional matinee performance at 2.30pm tomorrow (Saturday).

Tickets cost from £15.25 to £28.75, with cheaper prices available online. Call 024 7655 3055 or visit www.belgrade.co.uk