The Colony Room’s notorious Muriel Belcher lives again

Celine Hispiche put on a magnificent cabaret at The Colony Room on Monday (09.03.26) evening.

The flamboyant artist performed one of the centerpieces of her current repertoire, The Six of Clubs. The performance is a character-driven deep dive into a specific group of historically important and notorious Soho women - muses, artists and hell-raisers - whom Celine brings to life through a blend of spoken word, song and rapid-fire storytelling.

The performance typically centres on figures like Henrietta Moraes (the "Queen of Soho" and muse to painters Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud), Betty May (the "Tiger Woman"), and Muriel Belcher, who was at the centre of the original Colony Room.

Muriel Belcher was the club's soul and its primary enforcer. She astutely paid Francis Bacon a retainer to bring in "interesting" people - which usually meant wealthy or talented individuals who didn't mind being insulted.

The video that follows shows Celine imbibing the spirit of that architect of chaos Muriel Belcher.