This simple one-woman show used storytelling and songs to bring to life the story of Jean Ross, the “divinely decadent” 1930s cabaret performer who inspired Christopher Isherwood to create the character of Sally Bowles, popularized by the musical Cabaret.

Written by musical director and pianist Gez Kahan, the show touched on Ross’s romantic misadventures as she developed from an over-confident ingénue to a more reflective woman.

Backed by a talented three-piece jazz band swinging through music from the period, actress Sophie Jugé carried the show with intensity.

She swept the floor resentfully, finding irritation in These Foolish Things - the classic song Ross apparently inspired Eric Maschwitz to write before he left her for Hollywood.

Director Alexandra Karathodorou established a minimal set with basic props, yet Jugé’s changing between different dressing gowns after almost every song became repetitive to watch.

From a cosmopolitan childhood to a tough life as a struggling actress, exasperated by being a muse for creative men without seeing any benefits herself, Ross inadvertently became a political correspondent when the Spanish Civil War broke out while she was on holiday with a lover in Spain.

You don’t have to be interested in 1930s history to enjoy this show, but it would help.

Three stars