Divinely Bette: Bette-er Than Ever is a one-woman tribute to the one and only Bette Midler, playing at the Landor Theatre. The Landor is a gorgeous little venue situated above what seemed like an incredibly trendy pub. The actual theatre is a small venue but is quite wide and has a lot of floor space; it’s perfect for cabaret performances.

I personally am not one who is subject to blasting Bette Midler’s songs out in my room every day, but it’s no secret that this woman is completely iconic and has really created a renowned name for herself. I come into the show not knowing too much and excited to introduce myself to the world of the Divine Miss M and her mass following.

Just from the title, I think this is going to be a funny, quirky performance which is full of energy. I really hate to say it but sadly, I leave disappointed to say the least. As the show starts, I expect Kim Sheard to burst onto the stage and astonish us from the word go. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite hit the mark as she seems to be quite nervous. It is clear that Sheard has a good voice and that she has a large vocal range, particularly in terms of belting. Perhaps it is therefore her nervousness making her voice shake, as she looks slightly uncomfortable coming out to sing to us.

The performance involves many opportunities of witty one liners and tongue-in-cheek songs that can be played directly to the intimate audience. I can’t help but think that so many of these opportunities are missed, either from bad choices, or in some cases, what seems like no choice at all. There are many times where I am rooting for Sheard to completely capture us but it just seems, in my opinion, to fall flat. Her discomfort imprints onto the audience and it is clear that Sheard found this difficult to recover from.

Sheard states at one point that she’s “added some choreography” in the song For The Boys, but all I see is typical ‘musical theatre hands’ as she slowly grabs up to the ceiling. There are also many points where there are instrumentals in songs, and in my opinion this is one of the biggest opportunities to connect the meaning of a song to an audience, albeit hard to do this. Sheard just seems to look up, close her eyes and shake her head with no intention behind why she is moving in this way.What I think I’m trying to say is that there was no reason behind the movement. She makes use of the space well, but there is no purpose behind any of the acting choices. This therefore makes the songs and little speeches, whether they be emotional or comedic, seem unidentifiable and unrelatable.

I think in terms of categorising this as a tribute show, it would benefit from more performers, not only to introduce new colours into the show, but to show audiences how many people appreciate this “divine” woman. This would mean that the reason behind paying tribute to such a woman would reflect onto the audience, and it would create a fun and enthusiastic environment where everyone, however different from each other, would each share this interest in common. I think the principal behind the idea has a lot of potential, but unfortunately the reality is not ‘Bette-er’ than my expectations.

Divinely Bette: Bette-er Than Ever is playing at the Landor Theatre until 25 July. For more information and tickets, see the Landor Theatre website. Photo credit: promotional image.