Almost 25 years ago, Frances Barber starred as Billie Trix in the musical Closer to Heaven written by Jonathan Harvey together with Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe of the Pet Shop Boys. Barber was such a star as Billie that six years ago, the spin-off solo show MUSIK was unleashed at the Edinburgh Fringe. It was a huge hit, having a sell-out season and acquiring a legion of devoted fans.
Now, MUSIK is back in London for a short run at the wonderful Wilton’s Music Hall. It’s a divine shabby-chic venue, the oldest grand music hall in the world, and it’s a perfect setting for Billie’s musical-memoir of a life lived in the maelstrom of celebrity. Like the building itself, Billie shows more than a few signs of age but she’s not dead yet.
MUSIK – quick links
Life is a cabaret
In MUSIK, it’s a miracle in itself that Billie Trix is still standing. ‘Born at the edge of hell’ and originally named Hildegard, Billie is dishevelled, angry, unrepentant and snorting large quantities of cocaine, which she washes down with Jack Daniels, neat, usually straight from the bottle. She was her mother’s ‘one regret’ – a ‘little mongrel’ born in war-torn Berlin.
There is more than a touch of Berlin Kabaret here, with Barber delivering an acerbic monologue with Germanic vocal inflections. The performance delivers a piercing take on celebrity and pop culture. In Billie’s telling of her life story, she was Madonna’s muse (‘the bitch stole my look’), gave Andy Warhol the inspiration for his first soup can, and was the creative force behind artists Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin. She was even responsible for Covid escaping from Wuhan.
Everyone gets a mention, from Salvador Dalí to Sandie Shaw and Lou Reed. And yes, even Donald Trump.
The jokes are fast and furious, a tirade of scathing one-liners. They are often complemented with a melancholy song belted out in the breathy, gritty voice that can only come from a lifetime’s relationship with Marlboros and too much oral sex.
Barber earns her return
The clever projections, with brilliant video design by Leo Flint, build atmosphere and enhance the storyline. Credit too goes to director Terry Johnson and movement director Rebecca Wield. But MUSIK is all about Barber. She is an absolute star as Billie Trix and fully owns the audience from the first moment to the last. Even an eyelash malfunction can’t interrupt her frenetic delivery.
Barber’s performance is passionate and manic, stomping around the stage, but also given to moments of regret, reflection and introspection.
MUSIK is a paean to the power of self-preservation – this is a woman who spent 10 years living in a phone box in Soho when times were tough – as well as a reflection on our relentless obsession with the veneer of celebrity. Billie Trix is brash, bad and beautiful – everything a pop icon should be! See her now at Wilton’s.
