THE TALE of one of Hollywood’s greatest rivalries is coming to Saddleworth, thanks to the latest production at the theatre at Delph’s Millgate Arts Centre.
To say there was no love lost between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford is an understatement.
Born in the same year, the two fought bitterly throughout their long and brilliant careers.
Davis once swore ‘Crawford is five years older than me if she is a day,’ and the story has everything, from professional competition to off-screen love interests.
The pair started feuding after Bette became involved in a love triangle with Joan’s then-fiancé, Franchot Tone.
While filming Dangerous, the co-stars became romantically interested in one another.
Bette told biographer Michael Thornton: “I fell in love with Franchot, professionally and privately.
“She took him from me. I have never forgiven her for that and never will.”
In her posthumous book, Not The Girl Next Door, Joan recalled: “Do you know that when we were making Baby Jane, Bette admitted to me she was ‘absolutely smitten’ with Franchot?
“Franchot and I were already very much involved.
“Franchot said he thought Bette was a good actress, but he never thought of her as a woman.”
The women worked together only once, in the classic thriller Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? in which their violent hatred of each other as rival sisters was no act.
And the story has been taken to the stage with the production Bette & Joan by Anton Burge – it comes to Millgate on Saturday, February 18 until Saturday, February 25.
The Saddleworth Players production depicts the two stars, in adjacent dressing rooms, between takes on the set of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
Joan manages her anxiety by lacing her Pepsi with vodka and signing photographs for her beloved fans, Bette chain smokes and muses on her love life, plus her ability to pick a decent script, never a decent man.
Behind the bitching and the practical jokes, we see each woman’s insecurities and regrets.
Their rivalry is revealed to be underpinned by grudging respect as they attempt to identify their new roles in life as well as in their careers.
The parts of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford are being played by Rachel Harrison and Tracey Rontree, respectively.
Both actresses have appeared in previous productions at the Millgate Arts Centre and the play is directed by local amateur stalwart Melvyn Bates.
Bette & Joan will be performed by the Saddleworth Players at the Millgate Arts Centre from Saturday, February 18 until Saturday, February 25, performances starting at 7.30pm.
Tickets cost £10 for adults and £5 for under-18s and can be bought by clicking www.ticketsource.co.uk/millgateartscentre/bette-joan-by-anton-burge/e-rxrzbl.
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