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Rob Madge sparkles in this camp and kooky imagining of life as Barbra Streisand’s home shopkeeper.Summary
Rating
Excellent
The idea for Buyer & Cellar came about when writer Jonathan Tolins discovered Barbra Streisand’s coffee table book ‘My Passion for Design’ which showcased her enormous, opulent home through photographs she had taken herself. Within it he spotted an image of her basement, laid out like an exclusive shopping mall – complete with a “Gift Shoppe”, extra ‘p’s and ‘e’s included. Here she displayed her excess of possessions, to be enjoyed at her leisure. In his imagination, it seemed only appropriate that the mall would need someone to manage it, an idea is played out hilariously in Buyer & Cellar.
The inimitable Rob Madge is out of work actor Alex More who, desperate for employment, accepts a job working for a mystery client. This turns out to be Barbra Streisand, and Alex’s job is as a ‘shopkeeper’ to care for the enormous quantity of items in her basement mall. Alex charms Barbra, playing along with her kooky role play, and soon becomes a kind of confidante.
Madge sparkles in an impeccable performance, gifting us a cheeky glint in his eye and visual storytelling that is both confident and captivating. He switches seamlessly between roles to place Barbra and other characters in the room with him, performing with impeccable timing and economical physicality that makes each unique, whilst inviting the audience to share the ludicrous situation being envisioned, creating a warm intimacy. Admittedly, his American accent is a little obscure, but that’s overshadowed by his other performance skills which succinctly capture the play’s intricate explorations of humanity and vulnerability, individual agendas, loneliness, self-protection and self-worth.
There’s a comedic absurdity in the contrast between Barbra’s artificial world and that of her employee, both meeting in a place of fantasy, but where the edges blur. Ingrid Hu’s structured set is suggestive of seeing beneath the surface of outward presentation, allowing us to imagine the construction behind the opposing lifestyles. Although this is a solo show with minimal props, Kirk Jameson’s sharp direction fills the space with imaginary splendour and moves us on with ease and confidence by using Madge’s performance skills creatively. This is supported by interesting and atmospheric lighting design from Jack Weir that brings colour and fluidity to the story’s temporal shifts and occasional moments of drama.
Buyer & Cellar is an intriguing and quirky tale with some fabulously funny anecdotes that will make you laugh out loud. However, it does require some knowledge of a fair few American references to get the most out of the script, and an interest in gay icons is also useful. The whole is perhaps slightly too long, running at 1 hour and 40 minutes, which could easily be trimmed back. Nevertheless this is a very entertaining evening contemplating the price of fame, fantasy and reality, and the human agendas behind all our relationships, celebrity or not.
Written by: Jonathan Tolins
Directed by: Kirk Jameson
Lighting Design by: Jack Weir
Scenography by: Ingrid Hu
Buyer & Cellar runs at the King’s Head Theatre until Saturday 19th October. Further information and details of how to book can be found here.
