The musical story of a real Derry Girl hits the Edinburgh Fringe
From Bloody Sunday to the Hollywood Bowl, “Sarah McGuinness Sings Cabaret” treats the audience to a highly personal and at times deeply emotional story.
The title of this Edinburgh Fringe show – “Sarah McGuinness Sings Cabaret” – does not do it justice.
Sure, Sarah McGuinness belts out numbers from the iconic film and a few other much-beloved shows but what really makes this evening stand out is the magic that happens between the songs.
From a cleverly designed stage that evokes the feeling that intimate secrets are about to be revealed, the audience is treated to a highly personal and at times deeply emotional account of Sarah’s life story.
At times raw and visceral, the show is also laugh-out-loud funny and wonderfully nostalgic as she recounts her love/hate relationship with her Irish roots, her encounters with her dysfunctional family, her attempts to escape to London, and her endless determination to follow her passion and make her dreams come true.
Along the way, there are early encounters with figures from the world of entertainment who have gone on to become household names as well as surprising insights into the downsides of living in the shadows of stardom.
All this is punctuated by well-chosen songs that are both evocative of a particular moment or explain the emotions involved.
What’s truly remarkable is that the penultimate song, a self-penned ballad called “Strong,” more than stands up to all the better-known tunes that precede it. While the first of the original songs perhaps comes a little too early in the set for you to have fully emphasised with Sarah’s story, “Strong” is perfectly timed as you are fully invested in the character and want to know that all the tragedy leading up to that point has led to some kind of triumph.
It’s the perfect ending, a powerful statement of defiance and survival that will leave the hairs on the back of your neck tingling and have you believing there is nothing in the world you cannot achieve.
As the world becomes increasingly challenging, this show is the tonic you never knew you needed.
“Sarah McGuinness Sings Cabaret” is at the Gilded Balloon venue at Edinburgh Fringe until August 26.