It’s the 1930s and Betsy Bitterly is dying to be a Hollywood star. She’s an “empty vessel” and will do whatever it takes to land a speaking role on the silver screen. At the disposal of the ‘powers the be’, she is willing satisfy their every whim (if they let her). The cruelness of the industry is pervasive, and Cave has created a show jam-packed with satirical references to the controlling treatment of women that ring as true now as they did in early 20th century Hollywood.
A riot from start to finish
Cave satirises the male gaze as Betsy performs in instructional videos that teach women how to attain the feminine ideal. Highlighting the contradictory and unbelievably high expectations of women, Betsy has to repeatedly be ‘sad, but sexy’, ‘wise and worldly’, but ‘young and reckless’—something that every female performer can relate to. In one particular hilarious act of flirtation, Betsy follows instruction by picking up a handkerchief off the floor, resulting in a manic jazz dance that is sidesplittingly funny. Though Cave’s energy and charisma are captivating, the play could be made slightly shorter to tighten the pace and momentum.
Cave is an incredibly impressive writer. The show is full to the brim of mad-cap ideas and caricatures that make for laugh-out-loud comedy that is intelligently conceived and excellently performed. She makes hilarious nods to the tropes of Golden-Age Hollywood, such as Betsy’s producer husband who only speaks in scat, or her series of screen tests as a mobster, a cowgirl and a star-crossed lover. Cave plays with these female stereotypes in film, delving deeper and deeper into their absurdity until they become grotesquely hilarious. Building on this, Cave reveals the more profound issue of identity crises and the mental destitution caused by the brutality of the industry. This is perhaps best expressed in her remark that “the hands groping you today could be the hands lifting you up tomorrow!” Like many acting-hopefuls, Betsy is just a person asking permission to pretend to be a person. With a fantastical tragicomedy ending, Screen Test is a riot from start to finish.
Overall, Screen Test is a brilliant display of wit and resilience. If you’re a fan of character comedy, I would highly recommend Bebe Cave’s solo debut.
