THIS GIRL – THE CYNTHIA LENNON STORY at Upstairs at the Gatehouse

★★

“On paper, the show is well structured”

It is 1957. We are on Hope Street where an eighteen-year-old John Lennon meets and falls for fellow teen, Cynthia Powell. Danny and the Juniors are topping the charts; we are in the land of Double Diamond and Mackeson stout. When a round of drinks costs eight shillings. Looking on wistfully is Cynthia Lennon, the first wife of John Lennon, who takes us back to those innocent days when she was Cynthia Powell, and when John and Paul had only recently met, still unaware that they were soon to change musical history.

Cynthia (Roxanne Male) is the narrator, guiding – and guided by – the piece with the helping hand of hindsight. A story of love and loss, that centres around John Lennon, it spans their early years, Beatlemania, psychedelia, the break-up, the aftermath and finally Lennon’s assassination and beyond. It is a brave attempt to portray such a well-known and documented story, and a noble venture to push Cynthia centre stage. But like the reality itself, it is still John Lennon who pulls focus.

The focus is somewhat erratic, however, overindulging certain milestones while inadequately skimming others. The result is a somewhat shallow sketch show, the dialogue of which is poorly equipped to offer much insight into any of the characters involved. John Lennon (Marky Reader) is the most prominent victim of this shortcoming in a rather insulting portrayal. When he’s not a morose adolescent, he’s an inarticulate bully with barely enough empathy to even think about translating emotion into song. Which is just as well. The Lennon-McCartney catalogue doesn’t feature in this musical. Instead, there are eight new songs, written for the show by Frankie Connor, Alan Crowley and The Merseybeat’s Billy Kinsley.

The younger Cynthia, played by Emily Guilfoyle, lacks substance. But Guilfoyle manages to offer light and shade to the somewhat naïve text. Writing that barely hints at a personality that might have attracted the complicated Lennon. But then again, Mike Howl’s script annuls Lennon’s complexities with slogan superficiality. We get little idea, too, of the talent, or the camaraderie between Lennon and McCartney. In the absence of their songs, Howl, who also directs, circumvents any copyright issues by slipping familiar lyrics into the dialogue. Achieved with varying degrees of success, this neat device ranges from the witty to the contrived, with added inaccuracies for good measure (for the anoraks out there, ‘Penny Lane’ is a McCartney – not a Lennon – composition).

Admittedly, this is Cynthia’s story, but it is strange that no mention is given to George or Ringo throughout, almost as if the history of popular music has been re-written and The Beatles were a duo. However, Stu Sutcliffe (Dominic Cummings) quite rightly makes an appearance. An immensely important personality in Lennon’s early life, the chemistry and rivalry are allowed to flicker across the stage, but all too soon snuffed out with a disrespectful and partially distorted depiction of Sutcliffe’s tragic death at the age of twenty-one.

Too many episodes are glossed over. Revelations about Brian Epstein’s (Kevin Thomas) homosexuality are cliched while Aunt Mimi (Geraldine Moloney Judge) is overly unsympathetic and dismissive towards Cynthia and John. Lee Clotworthy makes a late appearance as Julian Lennon, bringing a welcome depth of emotion hitherto lacking, as he grapples with the conflicting memories of his father. Musically, the show rarely strays from its one-note, acoustic guitar driven balladry. When Lennon isn’t crooning about his chip-bearing shoulders, Cynthia is lamenting the presence of Yoko.

On paper, the show is well structured, with an opportunity for a poignant finale as the younger and the older Cynthia unite onstage, both visualising their memories of Lennon from their differing perspectives. The potential is finally glimpsed, but it took a long time coming. And it’s probably still a fair way from being realised.