The Roommate ★★★

That all this ambles along agreeably is undoubtedly due to the two performers trading on their most bankable qualities. The less-than-compelling narrative just about fills the 100-minute running time but star power drives this particular odd couple story, with Farrow as the winsome ingénue rubbing up against her co-star’s bone dry Bronx persona. While this does give proceedings a whiff of predictability, it’s comforting to know one is in such assured hands, especially as events slide into more of a broad comedy, with an over-reliance on cliches, in the play’s second half. 

Some might quibble about a potential lost opportunity to do something more radical with such talent on tap, but it’s much more fun to go along with two legends doing what they are masters of. Innovation doesn’t always reward, as anyone who has sat through any number of ‘experimental’ Edinburgh Fringe plays would attest. 

That a genuine friendship emerges between the two is never really in doubt. Both ponder the lives they’ve not lived, albeit from very different perspectives. The denouement, when it comes, is touching. One character emerges confused by the turn of events, but energised, changed, and charged for the better. The other, probably, not so much. It’s a flaw of the narrative that it’s never much of a stretch to work out just who the experience is the most formative for. 

Friends off-stage, Farrow and LuPone are the reason to see this unremarkable but ultimately sweet tale, which doesn’t offer any genuine insights about relationships but makes for a very comfortable, likeable theatre experience.