SIX

SIX DESERVES TO BE CROWNED ONE OF THE BEST MUSICALS EVER!

SIX, the award-winning musical is back in Salford and bigger and better than ever! If you have never heard of this show, then where have you been? It took the country, and then the world, by storm, for its unique format and incredible songs and now it is taking royal residence at The Lowry. Having already seen this show twice previously (and with it in the calendar for the not-so-distant future), I knew that show was going to take me on a rollercoaster ride of emotion, all whilst teaching me a little history lesson. Whenever I have seen this show, it has brought me so much joy and the little changes from each different person I’ve seen in the different roles is what makes it a new experience every single time.

As the title suggests, there are six characters in this show and they just happen to be Henry VIII’s famous six wives. However, this show is about them and their stories, not the husband that they shared. It starts off with a brief introduction, using the rhyme we all know, ‘Divorced, Beheaded, Died. Divorced, Beheaded, Survived.’ to the max. The Queens then partake in a competition of who had it worst from Henry, in order to see who will lead their new pop group of six singing ex-wives. This creates each one to sing about their woes, in chronological order of Queendom. First up, in the competition, is the original wife, Catherine of Aragon (Nicole Louise Lewis - The Book of Mormon, Dreamgirls) who begins the competition by singing her song ‘No Way’. This song tells the tale of how she was cheated on by the King, who then, because he wanted to marry someone else (we’ll get to her in a moment) demanded a marriage annulment and that Catherine be sent away to a nunnery. And, as Catherine herself says, she doesn’t think she would look good in a wimple. Her being chucked to one side after years of loyalty to him, is her reason why she thinks she should win the competition.

We are then introduced to the most famous wife of them all, Anne Boleyn ( Laura Dawn Pyatt - 42 Balloons, Bat Out of Hell). Her ironically named, tongue-in-cheek song ‘Don’t Lose Your Head’ brings a light-hearted look at the way Anne was accused of infidelity, after Henry VIII created the Church of England so he could marry her, and was beheaded for it. Her beheading becomes the reason Anne thinks that she should win.

Jane Seymour (Erin Caldwell - Heathers, Pretty Woman), the next chronological wife, then takes her turn to convince the other Queens that she should be the one to win the competition. Juxtaposing Boleyn, Seymour’s song ‘Heart of Stone’ is a beautiful ballad, explaining her genuine love for Henry and the loss of watching her child grow up, because she died before she could see that happen. She thinks that this will win her the competition.

The show then takes a small turn to tell us about Hans Holbein in the techno song ‘Haus of Holbein’. This sees the Queens don ruffs and sunglasses and explain how important his portrait of the next Queen was to Henry deciding she was going to be his next wife.

The wife in question is wife number four, Anna of Cleeves (Kenedy Small - Bring it On!, Wicked) who explains how she was rejected by Henry, after not looking like her portrait, but then tells us about the lavish lifestyle she led, once Henry moved on, in her song, ‘Get Down’. Cleeves knows she isn’t really a contender in the competition and admits it too.

Wife number five, Katherine Howard (Lou Henry in her professional debut), then takes her turn. Her song ‘All You Wanna Do’ gives her reason why she thinks she should win, which is the tale of how she was led to believe, by numerous men, that they loved her, including Henry, for her to be mistreated by them. The last man she feels will set her free was not her husband, which led to her beheading.

Last but not least, Catherine Parr (Aoife Haakenson - The Crucible) joins the fray but decides she doesn’t want to argue. She tells her tale of how she left the love of her life because Henry chose her next, through her song, ‘I Don’t Need Your Love’. After this, it is revealed that the Queens have been faking the competition all along, in order to show how they are more than history paints them as. And they conclude the show by rewriting the way history sees them - as strong, independent women, not just the wives of a monarch who is famous for the amount of wives he had.

The set is a simple stage with a raised platform and steps at the back and an amazing themed lighting package to match. The thing I love most about this is that it is where the band is situated for the whole of the one-act show. There are four people in the band, also all women, who play bass (Jess Williams), guitar (Lola Barber), drums (Amanda Dal) and the piano (Yutong Zhang, who is also the Musical Director) respectively. Throughout the show, the Queens have little interactions with them (such as Katherine Howard fist-bumping the guitarist) and it really brings the show together. It is strong women empowering each other and telling a story. The amount of young girls in the audience, some dressed up as their favourite queen, was amazing to see. The way that this show teaches and inspires young girls to be independent is what has people going back again and again to watch it.

Nicole Louise Lewis as Catherine of Aragon brought a sassy outlook to a wonderful queen. Her vocals were insane and the way she tells the story with her whole body, especially through her facial expressions, was absolutely phenomenal. Laura Dawn Pyatt’s Boleyn was cheeky, fun and bubbly and her energy fueled the whole show. Her one-liners were perfectly on time and had the audience in fits of laughter. Erin Caldwell as Jane Seymour had me nearly in tears. The emotion whilst singing ‘Heart of Stone’ was heart-wrenching. I was in total awe of her performance. What I love most, however, is that she does the whole show with her Paisley accent. In fact, all of the queens use their natural accents in the show and I love it. It makes them more relatable, somehow. You view them as real people and not as characters. Kenedy Small’s Anna of Cleves was a joy to witness. The brightness that radiated from her was unreal. Her huge smile and cheeky winks to the audience, as the queen who knew she’d had the easiest time with Henry, made her all that more fantastic. Lou Henry as Katherine Howard, in her professional debut, showed why she was entrusted with such an iconic role as her first job out of drama school. She embodied the seductive nature of Howard perfectly and played her in a way that showed her immatureness. After all, it is believed that Howard was just nineteen when she died, having married Henry aged seventeen. Last, but not least, as the survivor, Catherine Parr, was Aoife Haakenson. All the way through the show, she supports the other queens with her amazing vocals and when it is finally her time to shine, she certainly does so with an effervescent attitude. She helped to bring the show to an immense close.

All of the times I have seen SIX, I have been massively impressed with the skill and talent on show and this time was no different. You can tell, as an audience member, how much the cast enjoy performing this show and it seeps out into the audience. At the end, after the show has officially finished, the audience is invited to film the MegaSix - a mashup of all of the queen's songs. We did so, standing up on our feet, clapping and dancing along. The atmosphere was electric. I left the theatre feeling a thousand feet high.

This empowering, fun and incredible one-act show, by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss is a huge hit with audiences of all ages and you can see why. Children can enjoy the spectacle of it all. And, I believe, it is a great first musical for a child, due to it only being one act that lasts around an hour and twenty minutes, but also because it shows young people that they can be independent and strong, all whilst giving them some brilliant new songs to sing and dance to in their bedrooms. Adults enjoy the double-entendres that go over the children’s heads and also learn some new things about the Tudor dynasty along the way, all whilst having an absolute blast from their seat. This show is a must-see and a brilliant night out for all of the family. I crown it as a ten out of ten and will never stop wanting to go and see this show.

WE SCORE SIX...