Six – the Musical

The intermingling of tragedy, comedy, tongue and cheek, raunchiness, seriousness and heart wrenching drama was simply magnificent to behold and the energy of the entire performance remained high octane throughout.

Returning to Norwich for a second time; the sensational, the scintillating, the super strong and powerful SIX (ex) wives of Henry VIII stormed the stage for opening night at the Theatre Royal. These ladies did not come here to mess around, they commanded the attention of the audience from the moment they introduced themselves and we remained captivated until the final number. The SIX made it very clear they are here to set the record straight, re-write history and do so wearing bejewelled platforms, diamond encrusted corsets and iridescent Tudor headpieces for extra WOW factor!

Initially the show is set up as a singing “competition” for the audience to decide who is their favourite Queen. This is based on who had it worse from being betrothed to the infamous King. Was it the child bride? The one who truly loved him? Or the one who lost her head?! How could we possible decide. Betrothed. Beheaded. Died. Betrothed. Beheaded. Survived. Each one of the SIX makes a compelling argument for her case in the form of an epic solo performance and I for one could not decide on a favourite by any stretch. I loved every single one of them for different reasons. The intermingling of tragedy, comedy, tongue and cheek, raunchiness, seriousness and heart wrenching drama was simply magnificent to behold and the energy of the entire performance remained high octane throughout. Let’s just say, I don’t think I have ever seen a performance that can seamlessly transition from a formal Tudor dance hall with mandolin accompaniment to a underground German neon techno rave complete with glow in the dark ruffs! It really was phenomenal in every sense of the word.

When we reach the turn of the final Queen, Catherine Parr (survived) she gave the Queens and the modern-day audience and alternative. She asks “Why are we continuing to fuel this toxic narrative created by the patriarchy? What if we tell the story of our lives with the happy endings we all deserved?” The final song uplifts and empowers the women in such a way that we get to hear how fulfilled, capable, strong and powerful they could all have been had they not been weighed down by the social, financial, religious and patriarchal standards of the time they were living in. I particularly enjoyed the way in which they highlighted that although Henry VIII is arguably one of our most famous monarchs this country has ever known- is that for anything he actually did? Or was it just because of his wives….? I’ll leave you to ponder that one!

Finally, I have to give a shout out to the fantastic “Ladies in Waiting”- an all female backing band who supported the Queen’s as they moved through their group and solo numbers. The addition of the live band added to the powerful nature of the performance and I loved the encore so much because they all played their individual solos alongside the Queen’s chorus’ remix medley- every single person in the audience was on their feet singing, dancing and clapping along right until the closing lines at which pint the Queens were showered with explosions of gold leave glitter confetti. I mean, seriously, it was just everything you want in a musical.

I believe this run is almost entirely sold out but there are some tickets still available Friday night and the weekend matinees. I would suggest beg, borrow, steal- or by any other means necessary (maybe I draw the line at beheading?) get yourself a ticket to see this show. Maybe you would also like to treat yourself to one of the delicious sharing platters the restaurant has to offer. I was lucky enough to sample one of them before the performance and it was the perfect little snack before the show to enjoy with a glass of wine.