Rob Madge in Buyer and Cellar. Photo by Genevieve Girling.Since she published her book My Passion For Design which includes a pictorial guided tour to the home for which Streisand and husband Josh Brolin paid $16.5million back in 2009, news of its opulence and quirks — in particular the subterranean ‘shopping mall’ which contains many artefacts from her life and career — has become more widely known. Here, due to Alex’s previous retail experience, his agent lands him a job as general shopkeeper in the underground arcade, where his main duty is to dust the artefacts in each shoppe and entertain the sole buyer, when the aforementioned lady of the house comes to visit.
Sure, what gay man doesn’t love a yarn involving La Streisand’s material excesses and her fastidious attention to detail, but this is more a drawn-out cabaret anecdote than a play. The musical theatre references come thick and fast and Madge’s campy delivery ensures that most of the gags land securely as he performs whilst adorned with a mop of quiffed red hair and a mere chair for set.
Towards the end of the piece, an attempt is made to imbue insight and gravitas to the largely trite scenario, but thankfully, irrespective of a superficial outline of her Brooklyn childhood, the production avoids getting bogged down in an attempt to explain Streisand’s psyche or motivations and allows the fluff to remain fluff… along with a large dollop of coffee flavoured frozen yoghurt with sprinkles.
Buyer & Cellar plays at King’s Head Theatre until 19 October 2024.
