Sarah McGuinness facts for kids

Sarah Townsend, who is known by her professional name Sarah McGuinness, is a talented artist from Ireland. She is a singer, composer, producer, director, and screenwriter.

Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, McGuinness grew up in a musical family. She often sang with her mother and sisters in County Donegal. As a child, she even sang Christmas carols with a young Peter Cunnah, who later became famous with the band D:Ream.

When she was 18, McGuinness moved to London to study English and Drama. She started her career working in theatre and stage shows. From there, she moved into making music and then into creating documentary films.

Her work has been highly praised. In 2010, she was nominated for a famous American television award, an Emmy, for a film she made called Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story. She also wrote and sang all the music for the film.

Early Career in Theatre and Comedy

McGuinness began her career by running the Oxmad Theatre Company. To support herself, she worked backstage on big shows in London's West End. Later, she moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, and turned an old soup kitchen into a popular venue for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a huge arts festival.

At her venue, she presented shows for 20 different theatre companies from all over the world. It was here that she helped discover many new comedians. For example, Ardal O'Hanlon, who starred in the TV show Father Ted, had his first UK performance at her venue.

Working with Eddie Izzard

McGuinness also gave the famous comedian Eddie Izzard his first solo show. For her work, she was nominated for a special comedy award called the Perrier Award. For a while, she also helped promote the careers of Izzard and another comedian, Jenny Eclair.

McGuinness used the money she earned to produce her own plays and toured them across the UK and Ireland. During one of these plays, she met the award-winning actress Noma Dumezweni. Years later, in 2015, McGuinness would make a short documentary film about Noma's life story.

Running Clubs and Festivals

In the early 1990s, McGuinness was in charge of the Time Out Street Entertainers Festival. She also organized the World Street Fest in Covent Garden, London, which brought street performers together from around the globe.

As she became more involved in the UK comedy scene, she opened a comedy club in south London. She also ran a club in Soho called Raging Bull, where Eddie Izzard often performed. Many famous comedians, like Steve Coogan and Jo Brand, appeared there.

Music and Film Career

In the 1990s, McGuinness was part of a band called Wasp Factory. Their songs were produced by John O'Neill from the band The Undertones and were shown on MTV.

McGuinness has composed music for many projects. She wrote the exciting opening music for all of Eddie Izzard's big comedy tours. She also composed the entire soundtrack for her Emmy-nominated documentary, Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story. One of the songs from the film, "Mama Can You See Me Now," was even remixed by the famous musician William Orbit.

In 2011, she performed her music live when she opened for Eddie Izzard's shows at the Sydney Opera House in Australia and the Hollywood Bowl in the United States. In November 2017, McGuinness released her first album, called Unbroken.

From Theatre to Film

To learn about filmmaking, McGuinness started by producing and directing extra features for DVDs. She then produced several short films that were shown at international film festivals and on TV.

Her most famous film is Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story, which she wrote, directed, and produced. The film, released in 2009, tells the story of the comedian's life and career. It was praised by critics for showing a real and personal side of Eddie Izzard. For this film, McGuinness received her Emmy nomination in 2010 for Outstanding Nonfiction Special.

Selected Works

McGuinness has worked on many films and music projects as a director, producer, writer, and composer.

Film and Television

• Director and Producer: She has directed and produced many of Eddie Izzard's live comedy specials, including ... (2009) and Force Majeure Live (2013).
• Documentaries: She is best known for directing the documentary Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story (2009). She also directed a documentary about actress Noma Dumezweni in 2015.

Music Composer

• Show Openings: She composed the opening music for many of Eddie Izzard's tours, such as Glorious (1997) and Circle (2000).
• Soundtracks: She wrote the music for her documentaries, including Believe and Noma.