Gwenda’s Garage The Musical – Sheffield Playhouse

Sheffield, South Yorkshire, a Lesbian run garage named after the 1930’s racing driver Gwenda Stewart, three female mechanics and an apprentice, 1980’s Thatcher’s Britain, a time of protest and strikes and a time of a vibrant women’s movement. The controversial Section 28 of the local government act to prevent the ‘promotion of homosexuality’ as a ‘pretended family relationship’ empower the women through activism, solidarity and sheer hope to strive for a better future.

This Out of Archive in association with Sheffield Theatres production with an onstage band of five, and written by Nicky Hallett with musical numbers by Val Regan, Gwenda’s Garage is an excitingly raw and exuberant episode taking the stories of local women and placing them into the iconic location. Directed by Jelena Budimir, we are told immediately only ‘some, all, none’ of these events happened here in the song ‘None of this happened here’ – setting the record straight.  The music allows the inner thoughts of the character in an ‘aside’ fashion and gives a welcome break to the outward presentation of the women and the radical politics of the era. Billed as the ‘Lesbian Musical of the Century’ the production covers many of the issues of struggling LGBTQ+ with ‘a queer call to arms’. The set by Sarah Booth is simplistic but effective on the thrust stage, with a desk, a raised platform with a representational car that is built throughout and a much used set of movable ladders. The cast work well to manipulate the set with gusto and performance flair.

Bev (Nancy Brabin-Platt) takes on the role of the lesbian women who wants children and must forfeit her sexuality to achieve this. Her lover Terry (Sia Kiwa) is the polar opposite who enjoys her sexual freedom and ‘has toothbrushes all over town’, being a black female is an additional and deep rooted factor. The women sing the most memorable song in the production, a lovely duet ‘Meet me on the Bridge’ and the pairing show their vulnerability during this moment. I particularly liked the portrayal of Carol by Eva Scott, the solid trying to keep it all together and not outwardly ‘rock the boat’ character who carried the heart of the both the Garage and the production – stellar performance. The comedy is pitted throughout and much of it in the very capable hands of Lucy Mackay as the YTS apprentice – Dipstick. Her youthful naivety is infectious and her performance journey one of joy! The fourth character is Feona (Georgina Coram) a young married women who is drawn to the cause and finds her real self through her acquaintance with the mechanics. It is this character that allows the story to progressively lose its way and become too ‘comedic’, to the detriment of the productions depth. Coram does a fine job in performance working with the material she has been given, but it is the latter scripting, I feel is the problem. Her costumes by Becky Graham play a larger than life role in her transformation.  Another unusual addition is the cameo appearances of the band’s drummer (Liz Kitchen) as various ‘extras’ throughout – amusingly bizarre.

All in all, the cast give strong and meaningful performances, but I do feel that the script needs a tweak here and there to give a more hard hitting juxtaposition. 

Gwenda’s Garage has some laugh out loud moments and brings the audience to an era of change, 1980’s – its electricity can be felt on the stage. It is a story of the power of friendship, feminism and the collective action and as the t shirt says, ‘dismantling the patriarchy on spark plug at a time’! With an energetic cast full of heart and purpose we are left considering maybe the cause of civil liberties has moved on, but the battle is still raging today. 

At the Tanya Moiseiwitch Playhouse, Sheffield until Saturday 25^th October 2025.

Reviewer: Tracey Bell

Reviewed: 16th October 2025

North West End UK Rating: