With some easing of the coronavirus pandemic, Digital Journal’s London based journalist ventured to London’s west End to take in one of the new musicals that had recently opened. The show selected was Six, the latest lights-and-music offering seeking to ensure theatres are full and bringing revenue once more, as well as providing work for artistes.
Whether Six was the best show for a middle aged man to opt for is perhaps questionable, although the justification was, I was accompanied by my twentysomething niece.
As to the show, Six is based on Tudor history, presenting the six wives of Henry VIII from the perspective of the wives themselves. This is told, as the formula for most musicals follows, with just a little dialogue and a great deal of singing. There were several ensemble pieces, although the central narrative was with each wife singing a song about their lives, with the other five providing backing vocals.
The musical is written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, in their first major production, and then must be credited for coming up with something different and a production that provides strong female role models.
Not only were the six cast members female, the four-piece band strumming out 1990s-esque power pop ballads was also female. And the central message was to view the wives as individual females, rather than figures to be overshadowed by the political machinations of one of England’s most famous (infamous?) kings, notable for breaking with the Catholic church and founding the protestant Anglican community.
Not that any other political message was especially developed, other than an oblique reference to patriarchy. The emphasis was on fun.
Fun took the form of sometimes dubious historical references, including a reference to one future-to-be queen coming to the ‘UK’. The United Kingdom was not formed until 1707, whereas the event in the song was in 1540.
To put this way, I wouldn’t risk going to see the show in lieu of reading a textbook if I had an exam coming up on Tudor England.
The music and the costumes are good, adding a lot of sparkle. Some of the lyrics of the musical numbers are a little strained (take “If you thought it’d be funny to send me to a nunnery, honey, there’s no way” and “He wanted me, obviously, messaging me like every day. Couldn’t be better, then he sent me a letter.”) Then few musicals are on par with the couplets that Bob Dylan or Billy Bragg might write.
Niggles aside, the music and songs resembled many a Spice Girls number and the 1990s-revival vibe. The show was also short, although punchy, running 75 minutes without an interval.
For this curmudgeonly reviewer, the show rates 2 out of 5. However for an eight year old or someone who wants to relive a pop music infused ‘90s revival, the catchy numbers are present and girl power is high on the agenda. For this demographic, a 5 out of 5 rating is sure to be on the cards.
Six is currently playing at the Vaudeville Theatre, London.
