All About Eve: A Sharp, Stylish Look at Stardom and Sabotage

I watched All About Eve on National Theatre at Home recently, and I can’t stop thinking about it. There’s something really satisfying about a story that digs into ambition, ego and performance without making it too dramatic. Gillian Anderson was brilliant as Margot Channing – not just mimicking Bette Davis, but building something quieter, steelier, more tired-but-still-dangerous. I loved it. It felt like a fresh take on a well-worn story – familiar, but not in a lazy way. It reminded me that stories about ambition are often the most revealing, especially when they’re told with such precision.

What Is All About Eve?

At its core, All About Eve is a story about an ageing Broadway actress, Margot Channing, and the fan-turned-saboteur who slowly takes over her life. Eve Harrington starts off all wide-eyed and devoted, but there’s something unsettling about how quickly she becomes essential – and then unstoppable. It’s not just a drama about theatre – it’s a play about identity, illusion, and survival.

It’s about theatre, yes. But it’s also about power, jealousy, performance (onstage and off), and what it costs to stay relevant. The original story was a short piece called The Wisdom of Eve by Mary Orr, but most people know it from the 1950 film starring Bette Davis. That version is biting, iconic, and endlessly quotable – a sharp-eyed satire that’s stood the test of time.

What makes this story linger isn’t just the plot twists or the famous lines. It’s the way it exposes how performance isn’t confined to the stage. Everyone’s putting on a show – to win approval, to protect themselves, to get ahead. That makes it unsettlingly relatable.

From Page to Stage (and Screen)

Joseph L. Mankiewicz adapted and directed the film, which swept up Oscars and cemented itself as a classic. It was sharp, stylish and vicious in the best way. In 1970 it became a musical called Applause, and in 2019, Ivo van Hove brought it back to the stage with a very modern edge.

Van Hove’s version was stripped back and cinematic – not in a “let’s throw in a screen for fun” way, but with a purpose. It felt sleek and sterile, which worked. The emotional weight came from the performances, not the set. The mirrors, the live-feed projections – they weren’t gimmicks. They felt like an extension of the play’s central questions: Who are we performing for? And what happens when the spotlight shifts?

The move from film to stage brought the claustrophobia into sharper focus. It’s easier to feel trapped when the set is stark, the lighting cold, and the camera – in this case, literal – is always watching. It made the audience complicit. You weren’t just observing Eve’s rise; you were part of it.

The 2019 National Theatre Production

This one’s the version I watched – the 2019 West End revival at the Noël Coward Theatre. Gillian Anderson played Margot Channing with this incredibly restrained sort of power. You could feel the exhaustion behind the glamour. Lily James was Eve – charming, composed, unsettlingly patient.

The staging used live video and mirrors to heighten the voyeurism. It made sense – this play’s all about being watched and watching others. There was a sort of cold elegance to it, but it never felt distant. The pacing was deliberate, too – almost surgical in how it peeled back each character’s mask. The silence was just as powerful as the dialogue.

Anderson gave Margot a kind of faded brilliance – a woman aware that the clock is ticking but refusing to let the curtain fall quietly. Her vulnerability was never fragile; it was sharp-edged and self-aware. You got the sense that Margot wasn’t afraid of Eve because she didn’t see her coming – she was afraid because she did.

James gave Eve an eerie stillness that built real tension. You were never sure where her ambition ended and her identity began. The way she adapted to everyone’s expectations – from fawning fan to dutiful assistant to scene-stealing star – was quietly horrifying. Not because it was far-fetched, but because it was so recognisable.

Why It Still Hits Today

Ageing in the public eye, women competing for space, the transactional nature of relationships in the entertainment industry – none of that’s outdated. The story still works because we’re still having the same conversations, just with different platforms.

Swap Broadway for social media and Eve’s still out there, playing the long game. There’s something especially unsettling about how relevant it all feels. The politics of visibility, the quiet competition masked as kindness, the curated image – all of it hits a little too close to home. Margot’s experience might look different today, but it would feel the same.

It also holds up because it’s not just about rivalry. It’s about the hunger underneath. Why do we want the spotlight? What do we sacrifice to get there? What happens when we build our identity around being seen – and then someone else becomes more watchable? It’s not just a cautionary tale. It’s a mirror.

Key Characters to Know

• Margot Channing – Legendary actress. Knows she’s losing ground, but refuses to go quietly. There’s grit behind her glamour. She’s not just a diva – she’s a woman who’s survived the industry long enough to know how it really works.
• Eve Harrington – Polite, perfect, and quietly terrifying. She’s not loud – she’s calculated, and that makes her more dangerous. What she lacks in originality, she makes up for in discipline.
• Karen Richards – Margot’s friend. Sometimes helpful, sometimes not. You’re never quite sure if she’s naive or quietly complicit. She represents the comfortable observer – someone close enough to the fire to feel the heat, but not willing to get burned.
• Addison DeWitt – Theatre critic with too much influence and not enough empathy. He’s charming in a way that makes you uneasy. He knows how the game is played – and enjoys playing it more than anyone else.

They’re all layered – no one’s clean, no one’s totally evil. Which is what makes it so compelling. It’s not a fairy tale. It’s a chess game, and everyone’s playing. Some are better at hiding it than others.

Iconic Lines & Moments

You can’t talk about All About Eve without quoting: “Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night.” It still lands, even in a new context. It’s not just a dramatic punchline – it’s a warning, a declaration, a shrug of defiance.

There’s also this constant tension in the 2019 version that felt more about silence and space than words. One of my favourite moments? The way Margot watches Eve during her audition – not with fury, but with something like quiet dread. That hit hard. You could see the exact second she realised she was being replaced. Not because she wasn’t good anymore, but because someone else was hungrier.

Another standout? The use of mirrors. Seeing characters doubled, fragmented, reflected – it wasn’t subtle, but it worked. In a story about identity and self-presentation, it made you wonder how much of what we see is real, and how much is curated.

Final Thoughts – Would I Recommend It?

Absolutely. If you like theatre that’s about theatre – but also about power, gender and performance – this is for you. And Gillian Anderson gives a masterclass in restraint and complexity.

You can stream it on National Theatre at Home. It’s not flashy or sentimental. It’s smart, cold in the right places, and still relevant. Worth your time. Even if you’re not a classic film buff or a theatre obsessive, there’s enough bite here to keep you thinking.

It’s one of those plays that doesn’t just entertain – it makes you uncomfortable in the best way. Because it knows that we all, on some level, understand what it’s like to want to be seen – and what it might cost.

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FAQs

Is All About Eve based on a true story?
Not exactly, but Mary Orr’s original story was inspired by an actress’s account of a fan who tried to take over her life. It was loosely based on the real-life experience of Elisabeth Bergner, who had a young admirer-turned-assistant who blurred the lines between admiration and ambition.

What’s the message of All About Eve?
Fame is fickle, power is performative, and success comes at a cost – especially for women. It’s also about how we construct personas to survive, and what happens when someone builds one better. It asks whether authenticity can survive in an industry that rewards performance.

Who played Margot Channing on stage?
In 2019, it was Gillian Anderson. In the film, Bette Davis. And on Broadway, the role was taken on by Lauren Bacall in the musical version (Applause). Other notable interpretations have kept the character alive through changing times – each one adding something new.

Where can I watch All About Eve (the play)?
The 2019 production is available on National Theatre at Home. It’s a strong introduction to the story if you’ve never seen it – and a fascinating reinterpretation if you have.