Anna Burnside reviews a two-part production with ‘a convincing’ performance but lacks drama.
Elizabeth Taylor - do not dare call her Liz - had so much life that she needs two hour-long shows to begin to scratch the surface. Part one sees her holding court in the Beverley Hills hotel in May 1961. She’s survived pneumonia, won an Oscar and filled countless magazines with her torrid love life.
Those of us not conversant with the former child star’s multitudinous husbands could have used a timeline instead of a picture of palm trees as the visual backdrop.
In part two, she’s back in the same hotel 24 years later. The champagne has been replaced by San Pellegrino and she’s organising a gala benefit for Aids. In between haranguing the Reagans to RSVP, she reminisces about Burton and the pain of their on-off love over the years.
Kayla Boye makes a convincing Taylor, twinkling with gems, making genteel dick jokes about two-time husband. The wigs - made by Megan E Pirtle - are a triumph. Her older one, with all the volume the 1980s required, and tiny streaks of silver, is a masterpiece.
What is lacking here is drama. Taylor’s life was crazy mental, yet the most physical thing Boye does is answer the phone. Anyone who is not a Taylor devotee or old Hollywood gossip obsessive deserves more drama when they go to the theatre.
Call Me Elizabeth performs at Assembly George Square Studios (Studio Two) at 15:30 (60 minutes). Part One (called From Lassie to Cleopatra) performs on odd days; Part Two (called From Burton to Humanitarian) performs on even days until 30 August 2026.
RSS