When Justin Vivian Bond – now a successful actor and cabaret artiste, both as themselves and as washed-up lounge singer Kiki DuRane, one half of Kiki and Herb – first heard Marianne Faithfull, it was as a teenager. In the car on the way to a part-time job at Dairy Queen, Broken English came on the radio.
That was a turning moment in their young life, Bond reveals in this evening of cabaret celebrating the songs and the life of Faithfull. Named after the lead single of the British singer-songwriter’s 2002 album Kissin’ Time, Sex with Strangers opens with another track from the same disc, The Pleasure Song. Its bridge contains the repeated lyric “Are you with me or without me?”, but it is clear from the outset that the audience is with Bond completely.
Musically, Faithfull’s songs – rarities in pop music, Bond notes, in being written from the perspective of a more mature woman – transcend genre, with influences from blues and country to alt-rock. Even so, Bond and their five-piece band, led by musical director Matt Ray, tweak them all to fit the singer’s lounge cabaret aesthetic. Bond describes Ray’s role in adapting the songs as less of an arranger and more of a “deranger”, but despite the appellation, these are respectful, adoring presentations of an impressive catalogue of work.
True, the origins of some songs as pop singles don’t always translate well. There are some chorus lines whose reuse we tolerate on album tracks that, in a cabaret space, can feel overly repetitive. That’s particularly noticeable in Bond’s rendition of Broken English. Other songs are less susceptible to this, particularly the Act II opener The Ballad of Lucy Jordan – although that is due in part to its origin as a cover by Faithfull of a song by American poet Shel Silverstein.
Faithfull’s collaborative nature is referenced several times throughout, from her work with Twin Peaks composer Angelo Badalamenti to a haunting rendition of No Child of Mine, created in collaboration with PJ Harvey. Guitarist and singer Nath Ann Carrera takes on Harvey’s role in the duet, providing a beautiful counterpoint to Bond’s solo numbers elsewhere.
Between songs, Bond recounts tales from their own life, including wayward relatives with a penchant for placing sexually charged prank phone calls, as well as retelling how they came to meet Faithfull in Foyle’s bookshop, at a reading of works by JT LeRoy, who wrote novels based on their early life as a trans HIV-positive teen, but who was later exposed as a completely fictional creation. Bond paints a vision of Faithfull that is acerbic and no-nonsense, but while it’s also fun, it’s also a shallow portrait. The Marianne Faithfull we learn of through anecdote could just as easily be Patsy Stone from Absolutely Fabulous.
Where Sex with Strangers works is through its celebration of Faithfull’s work, and in that regard, it is peerless. When this cabaret was first conceived and performed in 2023, Bond admits that they didn’t really worry too much, as “Marianne was never going to see it.” Since the singer’s death earlier this year, though, they reveal that they now wonder if, in the afterlife, Faithfull is now watching, and that the thought now puts her under more pressure.
They needn’t worry. As Bond signals their disdain for the encore fake-out that has become a part of most music performances (“I’m going to pretend to walk off, then I’ll come back and do some more songs”), the audience’s appreciation for both Bond and Faithfull is electric. Sex with Strangers started out as a celebration of a musician and writer of rare talent. It remains that, but now it is also a fitting musical obituary.
Continues until 12 July 2025
