Henry VIII got through six wives in thirty-eight years; they were divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived respectively. On stage, Six is a bold and brilliant alternative unravelling of this most well-known fact about Henry’s reign and it’s fantastic fun. If all lessons were like this, children wouldn’t be able to get out of bed fast enough in the morning.
Now on screen, the popular musical – first performed on stage at the Edinburgh fringe festival less than eight years ago – brings the most memorable of history lessons ever to audiences around the world. In an hour and a half, an energetic cast of ex-wives whip through their own summaries of these marriages, and whilst no academic is going to be describing this fun-packed frolic as accurate, as a visual Who’s Who of the wives, it’s a brilliant way to absorb some facts about an infamous historical episode.
This is the Tudor era on space-age acid; a short sharp burst of history that’s more a rock concert than medieval court. Six feisty women in glittering costumes and enviably sparkly boots fill the stage throughout with big personalities and strong choreography whilst music is provided by a backing band of Ladies-in-Waiting. Picture an X-factor-style competition to determine which of the wives has the most terrible time with Henry, as each of the catty contestants take the microphone.
It’s like the Spice girls reinvented – each is different, each has her own character and attitude and their own back-story, and – as the women would have done in a Tudor Court – each is vying for the spotlight. Anne Bolyen, famed for literally losing her head, is an iridescent temptress in serpent green (played by Millie O’Connell as London’s original Queens reprise their roles), whilst Jane Seymour (Natalie Paris) is more of a rom-com girl-next-door, her song adding a moment of pathos in an otherwise high-octane performance. There’s also a rather fun neon dance-club interlude as Anne of Cleeves (wife 4; played by Alexia McIntosh), is chosen from across Europe based on the portrait painted of her, by Holbein: she may not have matched up to her” “profile picture but she’s bursting with humour.
When final wife Catherine Parr (Maiya Quansah-Breed) steps up for her turn, she changes the tempo and there’s a gentle twist in mood as she introduces a touch of politics, and employs a couple of choice phrases that could have been lifted from a news bulletin as she fights for feminism ahead of a Girl Power finale that had the audience roaring to their feet.
Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’ international hit musical was directed for the stage by Moss and Jamie Armitage, directed for film by Liz Clare, and produced by Kenny Wax, Wendy and Andy Barnes, George Stiles, and Dione Orrom.
