BWW Reviews: MISS DIETRICH REGRETS, St James Theatre Studio, January 21 2015

Miss Dietrich Regrets (continuing at St James Theatre Studio until 25 January) is, of course, an ironic title, since Miss Dietrich regrets nothing. Not the parade of lovers (male and female) that reads like a Who's Who of Cinema (Hollywood and Europe) and Politics (The White House and Europe); not the break with Germany over the Nazis' desire to co-opt her despite her fierce denunciation of their creed; not her cruel neglect of her daughter's emotional wellbeing, leaving her to swim with the sharks who floated around her libertine milieu.

Now old, her body breaking but her spirit as indomitable as ever, Marlene (Elizabeth Counsell in coruscating form) phones her list of A-lister contacts to prompt Ronald Reagan to hand over Klaus Barbie to the French or to natter with Kirk Douglas, or harangue the hotel concierge but, unable to allow herself to be seen as but a shadow of that great beauty, only her daughter, Maria, and a couple of trusted retainers are admitted to her presence. Maria (Moira Brooker in a beautifully judged performance) deals with her mother compassionately, but never quite manages to break through Marlene's carapace of stubborn arrogance to make her see that she needs to move from her hotel to a home where she can receive professional care. It's a unique life distilled down to the kind of dilemma that dominates so many families today.

Tony Milner directs this two-hander with great skill, keeping Marlene in bed at all times but allowing her huge personality and whiplash wit to beam out, her long-suffering daughter caught over and over again in its glare. Counsell sparkles as The Star, sliding into German for asides and dismissals ("Quatsch!"), her English never quite precise. One sees clearly the coarse sexuality as well as the charismatic stardom, the combination that proved irresistible to so many. Brooker has plenty to do just to keep up, but she does, revealing much about Maria's life, one of considerable, if not her mother's epoch-defining, achievement.

My mother was a great fan of Dietrich, coming late in life to her growling German voice, her outrageous life and her self-pity that bubbled so close to the surface - my mother liked Judy Garland too, for many of the same reasons and kept a copy of Hollywood Babylon close by at all times. And those who enjoy Mommie Dearest and all its pale shadows published since, will like Miss Dietrich Regrets - but it's more than another showbiz exposé, it's a subtle, sad story of ageing and arrogance, and of the impact such a dangerous combination has on others.

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