Dublin Theatre Festival 2026: Radio Bette (Fiona Charleton review)

Marcus Amaglo and Adam Silver in Radio Bette. Photo Patricio Cassinoni

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“Fasten your seatbelts it’s going to be a bumpy ride” is one of Bette Davis’s famous lines as the glorious diva Margo Channing in the 1950s movie All About Eve. Dublin Theatre Festival’s big ticket offering Radio Bette produced by New York’s The Goat Exchange, based on the movie, promises the same dangerous unpredictability but unfortunately only partially delivers. This world premiere is a deliberately unhinged, playful yet political interpretation of the movie and features eight actors reenacting a radio version that they simultaneously hear through the headsets. So, yes, strap yourselves in. You have been warned.

If you haven’t seen this 6 times Oscar winning movie, spoil yourself and watch it. Written and directed by Joseph Mankiewicz, the award winning script is razor sharp, the visuals are the epitome of old Hollywood glamour and the acting superb. Both Bette Davis and Anne Baxter were nominated for Best Actress gongs and George Sanders won Best Supporting Actor for his role as the waspish theatre critic and all round symbol of patriarchy, Addison DeWitt. A perfect surname for a man of his urbane witticisms. But it’s the plot that fascinates. The story revolves around Margo Channing (Bette Davis), a glamorous, ‘aging’ (for aging read forty) stage star who takes pretty, young ingénue Eve, (Anne Baxter) under her wing and then watches powerlessly as Eve, ever so gently and sweetly, sabotages Margo's life. Fascinating and important themes abound: our unhealthy focus on hyper-femininity, the resulting invisible misogyny towards older women, ruthless ambition, betrayal and the promotion of individual rather than community values. The movie also depicts an early exposé of the ‘Me Too’ movement where a young Marilyn Monroe playing a wannabe actress is thrust into the arms of a powerful producer. An example of how Radio Bette rolls is that Monroe is played by a puppet whose strings are pulled by actors.

Chloe Claudel and Adam Silver in Radio Bette. Photo Patricio Cassinoni

Although the movie is known for its crisp cinematography, this Goat Exchange production is based on a rare, 1951 radio recording of the movie. It opens theatrically with the glorious Hollywood score, red velvet curtains and a kindly Radio Host, (Paul Lazar), espousing the benefits of Lux Soap flakes. But when the curtain lifts, all we see is a stripped back bare space with wires, mics and props lying akimbo. In the centre of the stage, facing out is a long black table covered with headsets and the accoutrements of recording studio: the significantly less aesthetically pleasing underbelly of life backstage.

This metatheatrical and radical puncturing of the fourth wall continues when the house lights go up and we are told that the actress playing Eve is not available so we watch as one of the production assistants (Chloe Claudel) is persuaded to read in for her. Actors playing the various roles then take their seats and the recording begins and, as the show progresses, we see Claudel as Eve growing in confidence with an outstanding performance. One of two directors along with Mitchell Polonsky, Claudel’s ability to do accents is so good that I kept wondering if she was lip synching. She isn’t. By the way, one of the idiosyncrasies of the show is that there is a constant background sound of static and radio feedback.

Vann Dukes, Roberta Colindrez, Kayta Thomas, Adam Silver, Michael Cerveris, Chloe Claudel in Radio Bette.

Photo Patricio Cassinoni

Given the wealth of raw material, it’s no surprise that Irish-Ethiopian actress Ruth Negga, who is over forty and a huge Bette Davis fan, was initially involved in the creation of Radio Bette. However, she stepped back from the production in August for reasons unknown. In a very life-imitating-art sort of way, her role as Margo Channing is now played by Marcus Amalgo who is British/Ghanaian. Whether or not this fascinating casting works is one of the questions of the show. Amalgo undoubtedly gives a bravura performance as Margo/Davis in particular in Act 1 where Amalgo brilliantly matches Davis’s languid, dangerous yet fragile energy. When, in Act 2, the movies’ original themes bleed into issues of race, in particular black feminism and ‘othered’ identities, Amalgo’s casting makes perfect sense. But it is an ambitious plan and for some will dilute the movie's original messaging about older women in the theatre as Amalgo certainly looks younger than Bette Davis does in the movie.

For those familiar with All About Eve, the first half of the production is great fun as it reenacts some of the classic vignettes from the film. Unfortunately, while a newcomer can follow the basic plot, the sharpest elements of the satire will likely fly over their head. The show's brilliant subversions rely entirely on the audience recognizing the contrast between the classic 1950s tropes and this radical modern deconstruction. Some scenes still stand on their own however. For instance, the birthday party of Margo’s love interest, Bill Sampson (a smooth voiced Adam Silver) works particularly well when it morphs into an entertaining ensemble piece. The introduction of dance, music and gold helium balloons injects the show with a vibrant energy aided by Finn Bamber’s lighting and Mitchell Polonsky’s uber cool sound design. Act two however takes a turn for the bizarre straying into another of Davis’ older movies, The Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, and this accentuated postmodern direction is challenging to follow. While the show's commentary on social attitudes towards marginalised communities such as the LGBTQ+ community, Black female community, older women and the vulnerability of young girls is excellent, the narrative line gets lost despite one excellent scene between DeWitt and Eve.

At the end the Radio Host closes the show with another advert for New Lux Soap flakes with added “colour freshener”. A genius and unsettling line that packs a punch in a show that feels as though it is still figuring out who it is. A work in progress. Just like Eve.

Radio Bette by The Goat Exchanges, directed by Chloe Claudel and Mitchell Polonsky, runs at The Gaiety Theatre as part of Dublin Theatre Festival 2026 until September 27th.

For more information visit Dublin Theatre Festival