A masterful piece of storytelling
The faded grandeur of Wilton’s Music Hall is the perfect backdrop for a bravura performance by a faded rock star. Frances Barber brings back Musik: The Billie Trix Story, the iconic character first created by Jonathan Harvey and The Pet Shop Boys in the musical Closer to Heaven, writes Katie Kelly.
Barber is magnificent as the drug-addicted, self-aggrandising, hilarious name-dropper. From curtain up to curtain down she holds the audience spellbound. The show is a masterful piece of storytelling, following the rise and fall of Billie – from post-war Berlin, through a stint as Andy Warhol’s muse, to a ten-year residence in a telephone box in Soho.
The blend of story and Pet Shop Boys songs is enhanced by a brilliantly designed backdrop. Though mostly comic, and often gratuitously sordid, the show sneaks in moments of emotional depth—particularly a song based on the famous shot of the napalm-burned girl from Vietnam: “Run, girl, run. You’ve only begun. You’re going far. They’ve made you a star. Is that what you want?” The way Barber delivers that last question to the audience gave me goosebumps and shows her skill and versatility.
Billie lacks concern for the opinions of others; she simply assumes that people adore her, regardless of evidence to the contrary. Combined with her self-confessed atrocious mothering, this makes her a powerfully liberated—and liberating—woman.
Musik is old-school entertainment with music-hall humour—if that’s your thing. It’s a great platform for a true star.
Wilton’s Music Hall until 25th October.
Booking and full details: https://wiltons.org.uk/whats-on/musik/
