I've been lucky enough to see Six a few times since it's started it's West End run. Since my first time seeing it two years ago it's gone on to extend it's run at the Arts Theatre in London, kicked off a UK wide tour, announced an Australia and New Zealand tour and tonight it opens on Broadway. The Queens are taking over the world and I'm here to tell you why you need to go to your closest production to see it.
In case you have no idea about this show I'll give you a quick run-down. It's a modern retelling of the story Henry VIII's six wives, in the form of a pop concert where the audience are set to decide who suffered the most at the hands of their husband. The show runs at 75 minutes with no interval
So why should you go and see this show? Well...
1. It's diverse
Following in the foots of the hit-musical Hamilton, which is based on the life of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and features an almost completely non-white cast. SIX features a cast that comes from all races, each of the queens can be played by someone of any background. Recently, people have pointed out that a lot of theatre casts aren't as diverse as they could be, so SIX blind-casting these roles is a step in the right direction that hopefully will encourage other shows to follow suit.
2. It features an all-female cast and band
Let’s face it, there are plenty of actresses trying to break into stage performance, however there aren’t as many lead roles for them as there are men, in 2017 Huffington Post reported that one out of three roles go to women. It was also found that between 2011 and 2015 women made up only 36% of casts at the National Theatre. However, women usually make up more than half of theatre audiences. This means it’s mainly men’s stories being told. But guess what? Women’s stories matter. And so, while SIX may not necessarily pass the bechdal test, it’s pretty great that although we hear about Henry VIII, we're actually hearing the story of his wives.
3. It's by British creators (maybe this doesn't matter to Americans, but if any Brits are looking for some home grown talent then look no further!)
Break-out creators Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss wrote the songs of the show while studying for their final exams at Cambridge, it premiered at Edinburgh Fringe and took off from there! A large amount of new shows on the West End have come from across the Atlantic (such as Hamilton, Waitress, Dear Evan Hansen and Come From Away) and although those shows are brilliant, our country is full of talented artists and musicians, and I do wish that the West End would reflect that more with what's available to see. SIX really shows what our young creatives can do and why we should support them.
4. It's all about girl power
All of the songs are based on modern day female pop artists. From Britney Spears and Ariana Grande, to Lily Allen and Avril Lavigne (and of course some Beyonce too), SIX takes inspiration from the biggest female artists. Anne of Cleves solo song is a crowd pleaser, and big stand-out as 1. An absolute banger and 2. Something that makes you feel good about yourself. It features lyrics such as, “No one tells me I need a rich man, doin’ my thing in my palace in Richmond”. Yes, there’s a bit of bitchiness between the girls (like when Katherine Howard says to Anne of Cleves “being rejected for your looks sounds really rough, I wouldn't that about that”), I mean these women are all exes of the same man, there’s going to be a little bit of caginess. However, these women do uplift each other and themselves by the end. We’re reminded that all of these women have had their lives erased from history and are just simplified to being ‘one of six’, the show does make some serious points about how women are forgotten in history.
5. It's got rave reviews
I mean, if all six of the original West End cast being nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Olivier Awards isn't enough to convince you (yes, literally all of them as a collective, they’re that good). Maybe the nominations for Best New Musical, Outstanding Achievement in Music, Best Theatre Choreographer and Best Costume Design will. Or The Evening Standard calling it ‘the most uplifting new British musical I have ever had the privilege to watch’. Or maybe the fact it’s received such an amazing reaction that it’s basically become a global sensation? No? Just me? Okay.
6. It's a whole lot of fun
Honestly, the show is hilarious. It’s full of quick-wit one liners, clever wordplay and puns galore. The audience have such a good time while they’re there and by the end are standing up and dancing. If you don’t believe me, check the Queens out in action, (they encourage the audience to film what they call the ‘MEGASIX’ that the show ends on) and you’ll see how much fun it all is.