Theatreguide.London
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The Theatreguide.London Review
In March 2020 the covid-19 epidemic
forced the closure of all British theatres. Some companies adapted
by putting archive recordings of past productions online, others
by streaming new shows, and various online archives preserve still
more vintage productions. Even as things return to normal we
continue to review the experience of watching live theatre
onscreen.
The
Love
Song Of Barney Kempinski
ABC
Television and YouTube February 2026
Trawling through the darker grottos of YouTube I came upon this delightful surprise, a 1966 one-off television play by Broadway and Hollywood writer Murray Schisgal (Luv, Tootsie, etc), starring Alan Arkin.
A happy, festive comedy with a touch of magical realism, it is a totally trivial but totally delightful hour.
As played with unflagging charm and high spirits by Arkin, Barney is a working-class New Yorker who loves his city. He carries around photos of what it looked like fifty years ago and marvels at the skyscrapers of the present.
He adores everyone he meets, and he meets some very colourful characters, among whom he may be the most eccentric.
Apart from his love of the city, Barney's most striking characteristic is a casual relationship to the concept of private property.
Finding a taxi momentarily abandoned as the driver helps someone with some luggage, Barney drives off with it and starts taking passengers. Bored with that, he switches in turn to an ice cream cart and a tour bus, taking sightseers on a magical mystery tour that ends up at his girlfriend's apartment.
By the time he commandeers (and can inexplicably fly) a helicopter, you have stopped asking moral questions and given yourself over to the magical fable.
Playwright Schisgal, director Stanley Prager and Alan Arkin invest Barney with a core of happy innocence. There isn't a mean bone in his body and none of his 'borrowings' is for any personal gain.
Well, he does sell the tourists New York maps that turn out to be of Mexico, but they get their money's worth in adventure, and when he steals a pig carcass from a butcher's van he immediately delivers it to the first apartment house he comes to.
Alongside Arkin's infectiously cheery performance are a string of blink-and-you'll-miss-them cameos.
No less a personage than Sir John Gielgud is a taxi passenger, Alan King and Lee Grant are a squabbling couple, and familiar 1960s faces like those of Charlotte Rae, Arlene Golonka and Barney Martin pop up in even smaller roles.
YouTube's recording is not in the best of shape, with faded colours and occasionally muddy sound. But this Love Song is a lot of fun, and an hour spent in Barney Kempinski's company is a happy one.
Gerald
Berkowitz
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