STEVE FURST ON THE NEWLY OPENED CIRCLE AND STAR IN HAMPSTEAD

The first in house production at Circle and Star Theatre starred Artistic Director Steve Furst reprising one of his most well-known roles as Fagin. Steve is a British actor, comedian, and writer known for his work in television, film, and theatre, as well as his cabaret persona Lenny Beige.  After many years of dreaming of having his own theatre venue, he has finally made it a reality.  Chance, or some might say fete, has played a huge role in this opportunity and putting in the hours to make it happen, is a huge credit to his love of theatre.

The Circle and Star is making waves as the new theatre at the venue formerly known as Pentameters Theatre, run by Leone Scott Matthews for the last 57 years.  It’s a huge responsibility for the new resident producers to take on a venue which has such a respected history, but times have changed and they are rising to the challenge. 

They raised £45,000 which was more than matched by the brewery, Urban Pubs, for a complete overhaul. Now, it boasts state of the art, sound, lighting and seating, it’s also fully air conditioned and heated, with the added benefit of nice clean cloakrooms.  There’s been a bit of buzz about the place since it opened mid-December 2025.

The new resident company is run by three people, Artistic Director Steve Furst, Creative Director & Producer Justin Bovington and General Manager Carri Hecks. Steve and Justin are not currently taking a salary, they just want to make it work. The Horseshoe pub below is benefitting from new custom, patrons can take their drinks upstairs to the venue where they can expect to find top quality entertainment. 

Whilst Steve has never run a theatre venue, it has been his ambition for some time so when his best mate tipped him off about the venue, Steve just thought “well, I’m approaching 60, and I’m not going to be able to do it in another 10 years.”    By a happy coincidence Steve also knows the CEO of Urban Pubs and Bars, so he contacted him and got a response: “He said, I’m going away for three weeks, have the proposal on my desk for when I came back, and he loved it.” 

Justin works remotely. “His genius is design and the ability to write code for websites” says Steve who is conscious that if anything happens to him, there’s a problem. “To pay someone to do what he’s doing would be significant.” Carrie is the one paid member of staff at the current time.

Looking back at his acting career, Steve came to stage work quite late. “It’s really a background in performance, generally stand up to cabaret, to TV, and then lately to theatre.” Steve’s first musical was Matilda in 2012, and that’s when his theatre career began.  “Since then, I’ve done lots, the Globe and the National, and, um, the RSC, so yeah, it’s been a good … but in terms of running my own space …”   He ran his own cabaret venue as a club, and now this idea is filtering into Circle and Star with an option on membership.   This entitles patrons to join members only events amongst other attractions. 

Everyone is welcome and the management goes the extra distance to make it as accessible as possible. The venue isn’t suitable for a lift, but lightweight wheelchairs have been taken up the flight of stairs, a couple of times, for patrons.  “For profoundly disabled people it becomes more difficult, but one of our most regular punters is a deaf woman, and she’s said ‘it’s made a world of difference’ because she’s so close she can see people’s mouths to lip read .. we always give her the same seat.” It’s an advantage of small venues to be close to the action, it’s a very different experience to large venues.

Steve’s choice of Fagin as first in house show, came about after the success of Oliver at Leeds Playhouse. “It was a really, insanely well-reviewed show but we knew that it would be because Cameron was opening the West End version … and I thought, well, look, I didn’t want it to be the last time I played him, so we’ll write a show, and I’ve written a lot of multi-character shows, and I thought, write a Fagin show.”   Steve did a lot of research into the history of the character in the book and on the stage, and into the anti-Semitism. As a Jewish man himself, he’s created a show about all these things. “I’ve written a couple of new songs, and so it’s kind of history, comedy, entertainment, multi-character and I’m presenting it as Fagan … I don’t think there’s another show like it.” It’s a character that everyone knows but it comes with “trouble and questions and history”.

It’s now touring but is likely to come full circle back to, um, well Circle and Star.  In the meantime, the venue has regular nights which are the mainstays of the theatre.  “Guy Chambers does a music night, called Voices, which is fantastic, and David Arnold, the composer, has been doing a songwriter’s night and there’s a great comedy night.” For something completely different they have a Gothic Horror season called Dark Matters coming up in October.

As if all of this isn’t enough, Steve also points out the venue has a huge monitor, a full width screen, an amazing sound system and three camaras. “We can stream stuff and record podcasts, and we’re head and shoulders above in terms of our tech.” 

With so many advances, has the venue lost its character, it’s sense of community? “Absolutely not” says Steve, “because you’re walking into a building and a room that is essentially the same, it’s the same layout, it’s still a black room, but it feels like a working business now.” 

Full details of the upcoming programme can be found on the Circle and Star website here. 

PROFILE

CIRCLE AND STAR THEATRE

28 Heath Street

Hampstead

London NW3 6TE

https://circleandstar.com/

IN A NUTSHELL

An intimate independent theatre in the heart of Hampstead with black box space. The emphasis is on entertainment in a recently refurbished theatre with great sightlines, comfortable seating and cloakrooms. It retains its sense of character, with the added benefit of having state of the art technical equipment, air condition and heating.

PRODUCTIONS

Cabaret, comedy, music, and theatre productions with an emphasis on entertainment.   A Gothic horror season is scheduled to open October 2026.

THE PUB

Gorgeous décor, tasty pub food using fresh seasonal produce and their own brewed beer makes THE HORSESHOE PUB as individual as the theatre upstairs. The boss, Jasper, started brewing below the pub, with the aim of making a few beers to serve in the bar. In 2010, the operation outgrew their basement and moved down the road to become Camden Town Brewery.

LOCATION

Circle and Star Theatre is located above The Horseshoe Pub on the corner of Heath Street and Oriel Place. Set in vibrant Hampstead Village with its abundance of eateries, there’s no shortage of pre-and-post theatre options for foodie types. Come early to nose around the boutiques and fashionista indie shops.

Nearest tube station: Hampstead (Northern Line) – turn left out of the station and you’ll find the pub one minutes-walk with the theatre around the corner on Oriel Place.

Bus Routes: 268 and 46

VALUE ADDED

Access:

No lift but the venue can accommodate lighter chairs for those who can use the stairs. Please alert the theatre who will help to carry the chair upstairs.

Theatre Patrons

Option on a Membership, full details can be found on Circle and Star website

Incoming companies

State of the art technological equipment. Newly refurbished backstage dressing rooms with cloakroom

DID YOU KNOW …

Léonie Scott-Matthews founded a theatre above The Horseshoe Pub, on 20 October 1971. Pentameters Theatre has a proud and rich history – the full story can be found on this page.

In December 2025 the theatre came under new management led by Artistic Director Steve Furst, and Creative Director & Producer Justin Bovington, and was renamed Circle and Star Theatre.