Simon Ward reviews Grit, Glitter and Gaslight -The Sarah McGuinness Story at the Circle and Star Theatre

The Circle and Star Theatre is the latest incarnation of one of the godfathers of London’s pub theatre scene, the Pentameters, which has been producing groundbreaking work for nearly sixty years. It is situated above the Horseshoe pub in Heath Street, Hampstead, but take note that the theatre has a separate entrance in the adjacent street.

Into this exceedingly intimate space blasts Sarah McGuinness, belting out the Emcee’s Wilkommen number from Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret with gusto. But what’s this? Interspersed among the impeccably rendered German, French and RP English are what can only be described as the strangulated vowel sounds of Derry City. For this is the story of how real-life ‘Derry Girl’ McGuinness found her way from a war-torn town in Northern Ireland all the way to Hollywood. But wait, all is not what it seems. For a start, she is not of the Derry Girl generaton and she was actually born in London. For another thing, she never made it the way she really wanted to, always found herself on the fringes, looked down on or ignored.

We are backstage, as it were, of a cabaret show, so costume changes happen behind a tiny screen on the minuscule stage. McGuinness is our host, but really she is baring her soul. You get the feeling that if you were chatting to her in the bar afterwards you would get the same stories, only with even less discretion. After what could be fairly described as a difficult childhood and adolescence, her only dream, as for so many others, was escape to the glamour and freedom of London, the place that she had been taken away from as a small child. And while she may have failed to make it big in her own right as a singer-songwriter, she was able to use her talents behind the scenes to launch the careers of other people, as a talent-spotter, producer, director and composer. And she found a partner whom she loved, and who loved her. But something was still missing.

Like an extended therapy session with songs, this show is McGuinness’s attempt to break out of the strait-jacket that has been holding her back all these years. Launched at the Edinburgh Festival in 2024, this time she is putting on the show right here, on her own terms and in her own way. As a child in Ireland she was mercilessly mocked and bullied for her English accent. On her return to London in her late teens, she is mocked in turn for her weird Paddy accent. You will have to see the show to learn how Sean Connery, yes James Bond himself, is the only one who can rid her of this identity complex and allow her to weave the two aspects of her personality together. And when she finally sings the Irish standard My Lagan Love I could not help but dissolve into tears.

The music is pre-recorded – the on-stage piano remains resolutely shut – but is brilliantly engineered for the room. Everything from rock to sweeping orchestral sounds are perfect, and and the sound never overwhelms McGuinness’s powerful vocals. From Bowie to Adele, via her own compositions which more than hold their own, there is never a duff note. Even when relating her years of depression and being gaslit there is always a song to light the way.

Full disclosure, although writing for The Peg is the closest I get to showbiz glamour, I did long for and then achieve escape from Derry of the 1980s to reach college and ultimately London. In this respect I can completely empathise with this story. Long buried memories resurfaced in me and that, along with the showtunes, must be what rendered me an emotional wreck by the end of this glorious night of cabaret at its finest.

Grit, Glitter and Gaslight -The Sarah McGuinness Story is running at the Circle and Star Theatre, 28 Heath Street, London NW3 6TE until Saturday 21st March