Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, Live! For the first time since 2017, multi award winning ‘SiX The Musical’ is being shown larger than life in packed UK cinemas throughout April. Bringing back to life the six queens who found their hardships and indeed their triumphs of being married to the most famous king of England. Written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss whilst at Cambridge University, ‘SiX The Musical’ is a reimagining of the most famous collective of six royal wives to have ever existed. Conceived and originally performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017, ‘SiX’ was originally created to be a fun crossover of historic facts and pop concert, bringing colour and energy back into historic matter of fact text as we recall ‘herstory’. Now a winner of over 35 international awards, including two 2022 Tony Awards, three WhatsOnStage awards and nominated for five Oliviers. ‘SiX’ quickly grossed over $1million in its first week alone on Broadway and has gone on to be performed throughout the globe with many new cast members; and now at last visually and acoustically larger than life in cinemas. And here is why it is so popular bringing back the much loved and recognised original UK queens to the stage. Starring in order Jarneia Richard-Noel, Millie O’Connell, Natalie Paris, Alexia McIntosh, Oliver award nominated Aimie Atkinson and Maiya Quansah-Breed.
Reviews on the whole can sometimes unintentionally spoil theatrical releases, here however the breakdown below will give you far greater insight into what can happily be a multiple cinematic watch alongside others who have most likely already seen this live be it in the West End or on Broadway. With creative depth far greater than the appearance of just six singing women on stage plus their ‘Ladies In Waiting’ band, ‘SiX’ uses paired down visual background which adds to rather than takes away from the whole experience so as to concentrate on each dramatic solo performance. Each queen has been cleverly brought to life with an amalgamation of pop artists being the backbone to their vibrant costumes and musicality. For this review and for clarity I shall refer to just one artist in each case rather than the two actually used in a competition of whose life was the toughest in their royal life.
Catherine of Aragon’s crown inspired outfit and vocals were that of Beyonce with a certain marching rhythm to her defiant track of ‘No Way’ illustrating the king’s comparatively long lasting marriage to a spanish princess with the eventual divorce bringing about the Church of England. Anne Boleyn’s track ‘Don’t Lose Ur Head’ uses Lily Allen’s London styled voice with her checked design inspired outfits to make Boleyn’s performance seemingly far more street and up to date with slang working extremely well. For many being the most loved track of the packed 80 minute set. With Jane Seymour as our last of the first three we see a dramatic shift down the emotional gears to that of an Adele style inspired track ‘Heart of Stone’, recounting tragically dying soon after giving birth.
Diving into the last three, we are in for a mostly fun ride as we realise Anna of Cleves’s marvelous life after her divorce with the track ‘Haus of Holbein’. Getting off comparatively lightly we are thrust into a club styled German electronica track ultra violet routine that is a brilliant blast all the way. Elevating our moods from the previous track we now dive head first into Catherine ‘K’ Howard’s heartbreaking solo of ‘All You Wanna Do’ inspired by Ariana Grande’s on stage vocal attack in the finale of the piece. From the vocals to her red tipped ponytailed hair, we are witness to her emotional rollercoaster ride as she vocally soars reliving her short life being beheaded on Valentine’s Day eve at the tender age of only 18. Noting the solitary spotlight as she breathes her last breath. Finally we have Catherine Parr’s ‘I Don’t Need Your Love’ inspired by Alicia Keys’ jazz styled tracks, happy in her own skin as she outlives all the others unfussed as to whether she wins this competition or not.
Of course, ‘SiX’ is more on the whole a high octane concert than mere historic facts to music, and the fun finale of ‘SiX’ uses all their female vocal styles brought together to give us the musical rollercoaster to finish this gig off with an almighty bang. Prior knowledge of the tracks like many concerts is a must to get the most from this experience. With many an upcoming performer around the globe dying to be the next Anne Boleyn or Katherine Howard, ‘SiX the Musical’ will surely run and run, as it adds new and adoring fans to the almighty smash it already has become, turning these feisty SiX into a NiNE out of ten for me.
Author: Piers, Maidstone Store
