Divorced. Beheaded. Live. SIX the musical by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss features the six famous wives of Henry VIII as they rewrite the tradition of the history books and tell their own unique story full of sass and sisterhood as they rebel against their poor betrayed wife status and empower each other to stand in their own right as a Queen.
Catherine of Aragon (Lauren Drew), Anne Boleyn, (Maddison Bulleyment), Jane Seymour (Lauren Byrne), Anna of Cleves (Shekinah McFarlane), Katherine Howard (Jodie Steele) and Catherine Parr (Athena Collins) journey through over 70 minutes of non-stop “chart topper” style pop tracks inspired by modern day pop queens which is the basis of the show’s continued appeal.
The journey of SIX began in 2017 when it was first performed at the Edinburgh Fringe. It quickly became popular, gaining a cult following and catapulting the show to success in the London West End. It has been nominated for five Olivier Awards including Best New Musical and is about to begin a tour of America with shows opening soon in Broadway before travelling over to Australia.
More of a musical concert than a traditional musical, the glitz and glamour of the all-female production had the audience whipped into a frenzy as they girls make their entrance.
The all- female rock band on-stage accompany the six queens as they each tell their individual tale of romance and betrayal. The costume design is outstanding as each queen is perfectly styled in contemporary versions of renaissance dress with period sleeves and bodices mixed with leather studs and glittery boots.
Several of the pop inspired hits such as All You Wanna Do and No Way have all the sex appeal and powerhouse vocals reminiscent of Beyonce and Rhianna.
However some of the softer ballads such as the performance of Heart of Stone was a more poignant moment in the show. Mixed in with songs were plenty of comedy moments throughout as the lead players arrived on to the stage full of energy with great on stage camaraderie and spot on comic timing.
Don’t Lose Ur Head was one of the most hilarious numbers of the night with Anne Boleyn’s Lily Allen style performance prompting laughter from the audience.
Marlow and Moss devised a SIX point plan when shaping the writing process for the musical and at the core of their aims was ensuring that even 500 years later, there are still parallels to be found in the female experience.
Above all they wanted the show to acknowledge the silliness and campness of its own genre and be self-aware of its own message; it should never be too earnest or sincere.
We enjoyed this fun, glamorous show. Tickets available at the Theatre Royal until Saturday 9th November.