This one-woman cabaret show starring Frances Barber oozes endearing warmth and wicked wit in equal measure. Barber dazzles and delights her audience in a wonderful portrayal of Billie Trix, the glorious and slightly dishevelled muse as seen previously in Jonathan Harvey and Pet Shop Boys’ musical, Closer to Heaven. MUSIK, it’s spin-off cabaret show, is where Billie Trix takes full and centre stage to recount her wild and kaleidoscopic past from Berlin to New York and beyond.
The night had already arrived with a heady buzz in the air, and what a perfect venue Wilton’s Music Hall was. A beautiful Grade II* building and the only surviving Grand Music Hall in the world. Recently named the 5th most iconic building in London by Time Out, Wilton’s is unique, full of charm and a spirit that has welcomed generations of artists through its doors for over 160 years. The night I was there it was a full house, with well-known and well-loved famous faces dotted amongst the crowd, and with an unmistakable cabaret fizz in the air. MUSIK written by Jonathan Harvey with original songs by the Pet Shop Boys, sees its actress and star Barber command the space with ease. She moves between bravado and vulnerability like a true survivor, part diva, part ghost, part raconteur. One moment she’s strutting through her own mythology, the next, she’s letting the cracks show, and you glimpse something deeply human beneath the glitter. Those vulnerable moments are like gold-dust, where you witness Billie Trix’s raw humanness and where Barber truly shines as a highly competent and versatile actress.
The humour is delightfully wicked, a stream of innuendo and sharp asides. An infamous line involving a certain confection and body part drew delighted laughter, and proof that MUSIK relishes in its own absurdity while keeping its charm intact. Beneath the camp and chaos, though, there’s plenty of tenderness, from the ache of someone who has lived entirely in the light, to now learning to make peace with the shadows. Wilton’s Music Hall feels made for Billie Trix. Its faded grandeur, flickering chandeliers, and worn beauty mirror her perfectly, both still standing, still shining, still unapologetically and with layers of interest. Indeed, the setting amplifies the show’s emotional layers, the nostalgia, the defiance, and the at times wild humour can sometimes feel like a deflection to how Billie Trix really feels. At just about an hour in length, MUSIK feels perfectly measured, a flash of glitter rather than a slow burn, and leaves the audience entertained with the show never overstaying its welcome. In fact, you leave wanting a little more of Billie’s madness! It’s a tight performance bright, and confidently contained, and like a cabaret style shot, is straight up. No chasers needed.
For all its glitter and laughter, MUSIK leaves a quiet resonance. It’s about fame, absolutely, but also about survival, and the stories we keep telling ourselves to stay relevant and alive. Barber makes Billie’s chaos feel strangely universal, a reminder that we all, in our own ways, perform, or wear a mask. The six original Pet Shop Boys songs thread through the show like neon signposts, and in typical PSB fashion, bright, ironic and with a layer of tenderness. The songs give Billie’s memories life, a pulse, a shimmer of synth intertwined with wit, and melancholy. Part club beat, part confession. It was with delight I managed a very brief conversation with Mr Neil Tennant himself after the show. I took myself back to Pet Shop Boys’ appearance at a Manchester audience Q&A, on release of their new album Nonetheless. Neil’s answer to a question I had asked felt therapeutic and I wanted to thank him for replying to my question so eloquently. Although being a fan and my nerves it probably made no sense whatsoever to him what I was talking about.
Directed with flair by Terry Johnson and with Harvey at the writing helm, MUSIK balances sharp humour with flashes of real pathos. Moving effortlessly between farce and fragility, where laughter is also tinged with a subtle sadness. Funny, fierce and unexpectedly moving, MUSIK is cabaret at its most real and human. Glitter, guts and the ghost of fame, MUSIK is cabaret with a heartbeat.
MUSIK is running until Saturday 25th October and tickets can be found here https://wiltons.org.uk/
Reviewer: Mary Fogg
On - 17th October 2025
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