Buyer and Cellar by Jonathan Tolins, The Drum, Theatre Royal Plymouth until 2 November 2024,

3 ☆☆☆. Review: Cormac Richards.

“Madge is just brilliant.”.

The story of a young actor, Alex,  who, by sheer chance, finds himself working in Barbra Streisand’s basement shopping mall is a gem of an idea. The shops all contain items belonging to her – a means of displaying them; dolls, costumes, hats, antiques….. there’s a lot. The actor is star struck and desperate to please his employer and, possibly, become friends; all of which is nonsense to his boyfriend and causes  domestic ructions. Dreams, fantasies and disappointment play out as Alex enjoys his moment in the company of his idol.

 Rob Madge made their name in the autobiographical one-person show, ‘My Son’s A Queer (but what can you do?)’ and ‘Buyer & Cellar’ couldn’t be in better hands. Madge is a natural storyteller and engages the audience from the off with the coquettish sideways look, the raised eyebrow, the turn of the head. To hold an audience’s attention for 100 minutes without a break is a feat for an actor and Madge is just brilliant.

Playing all the roles involved with the simplest change in voice and position, this is such a cleverly crafted performance and displays just what is possible in a solo piece without any bells and whistles. The spoken words are punctuated with carefully chosen music and sound effects and subtly atmospheric lighting. It is all very pleasing.

The main issue with the production is the content of the script; being a story about an idol from the United States, it is not a surprise that it is very American. The multitude of cultural references fly over the heads of many, as do, it would seem, the Jewish words and phrases integral to the script. Smartly, Madge and director, Kirk Jameson, have insured that the pace means the audience are whisked through these moments without time to think too hard about them, but there is a feeling that something is missed. The story is charming and fun, but lacks an emotional depth; it is well written, but feels slight and a little remote.

This is, however, a moment to admire Rob Madge again; it is a tour de force played at such speed and clarity that ‘Buyer & Cellar’ is worth seeing, just to see them at work.

Cast

Rob Madge – Alex More

Creatives

Writer – Jonathan Tolins

Director – Kirk Jameson

Composer & Sound Design – Emily Rose Simons

Lighting Design - Jack Weir

Scenographer – Ingrid Hu