Six the Musical Review

If you haven’t been following along on my Instagram or my Facebook page, I just (as in yesterday) finished up a 16 day trip to the UK. I’ve seen and done several amazing things, but I think that there are a few standout favourites. The Fashion Museum in Bath, the Dior: Designer of Dreams exhibition at the V&A, and seeing the Royal Ballet in person come to mind. However, finally seeing Six the Musical in person has to be in that list! It is essentially me in musical form, and I couldn’t have loved it more…

This was a rather a trip of a lifetime for me. Nothing I did was particularly unique BUT it is the first trip I’ve taken that I’ve been able to indulge myself and do whatever I want. And obviously, that meant a lot of history. (And fashion. And tea. And the history of the fashion and the history of tea.) A later addition to my itinerary was tickets to Six the Musical, and I cannot believe it wasn’t on it from the start.

For anyone who doesn’t know and missed my earlier post on Making History Fun, Six is a musical about the six wives of Henry VIII. A pop musical to be specific. Each wife has a song styled after different musical divas as they compare and compete to see who had the worst go of it. (Everyone. Everyone had the worst go of it, Henry was a dick.) It is only 75 minutes from start to finish, but it feels like it is much shorter- I haven’t been to a musical or show that has made me want to get up and dance more than Six.

We had tickets to the 8:00pm showing- the nice thing about it being a shorter show is that you can easily fit in 2 shows multiple days a week. (So more of us can see it!) The Arts Theatre in the West End is quite a small theatre, which I loved. They have a cafe, so obviously we had to get our drink of choice. I had a Howard, because I will always go for the gin option! However, you can also get an Aragon, Boleyn, Seymour, Cleves, or Parr- vote for your favourite queen with a cocktail! (I have to say, kudos to the UK for embracing gin. It is having a gin moment right now, and I am here for it.)

The merchandise for Six is incredibly reasonable. I have paid upwards of £20 for a basic tote bag (Royal Opera House, I am looking at you……..), but my Six tote was only £8! (This will come up later…) I also had to get a program, of course, which is one of my favourites. You get the bios of all of the actresses in the show, but you also get playful and fun introductions to each of the six queens. Even for someone who has read a good 25+ books on the various Henrician queens, I loved the intros. Part of what makes Six so special is its ability to poke fun at history and humanise it, as well as give a voice to the oft-forgotten female voices in an infamous story.

I wasn’t sure if picking front row seats would be a good choice, but I could not be happier that we did. I have to say, all six actresses were amazing for making eye contact and connecting with the audience. Yes, I know that is the job of an actress, but not everyone is the best for it. However, I was blown away- they all made eye contact with me multiple times throughout the show, and I was one person in an audience of 250+. And it gets better…

Six is unique in more than one way. As a show, it is the only production that I know that has a portion that you are allowed to record. There is a wonderful medley of all six songs, and it is below for you to enjoy!! (Note the eye contact from Katherine Howard at the beginning and Anne Boleyn closer to the end…) **I’ve seen that people have been filming other parts of the show, and I hope that they are removed and banned from attending again. Who does that?!** And while this is cool in and of itself, CATHERINE PARR TOOK MY PHONE ON STAGE AND I HAVE A VIDEO OF THE QUEENS FROM THE STAGE. Yes, you read that right. When she asked if she could take my phone, I was shaking I was so excited. How do I ever top that?!?!

Well, you top that by meeting several of the Queens themselves!! Claire was so patient with me, and let me wait to try and meet them after. And I was organised enough to make sure I had a marker beforehand, and I was able to get my Six tote signed. All of the actresses were so incredibly lovely, especially given that they had just finished their second show of the day. How many people can say that they were able to talk to Catherine of Aragon about the longevity of her queenship? And a wonderful piece of news? Six is currently auditioning in Chicago to open later in the year! And there is going to be a Canadian production in Edmonton in November. I guess I will have a Edmonton trip in my near future….

Overall, I thought that this was the strongest musical/show that I have ever seen. The writing, the music, the set, choreography, sets, costumes, everything could not have been more perfect. I am such an advocate for making history accessible and enjoyable for everyone. This show certainly does that! If you are London (or in Chicago or Toronto later in the year), you need to go see Six!

Also, I am giving myself bonus points. Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow wrote this while they were studying for final exams at Cambridge- I visited Lucy’s college, Gonville and Caius! It is fairly gorgeous, so I could see being inspired to write a historical pop musical studying there…

Are you going to see Six the Musical?

Cheers,
The Historian
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