GET ready to dance. Get ready to laugh. Get ready to cheer.
This is “BEHEADED - LIVE!” the wives of the Tudor King Henry VIII shout.
“SIX The Musical” turns the stories of the six wives of Tudor King Henry VIII into a pop concert. Think Spice Girls meets reality TV shows “The Bachelor” and “The Voice”.
Under the rather morbid premise of competing over who had the crappiest time with Henry, the first wife off-the-bat is the Spaniard Catherine of Aragon (Pheonix Jackson Mendoza). Divorced by Henry after his infidelity, Catherine’s catchy song “No Way” has a samba beat that Mendoza belts out of the park, embodying a perfect balance of pissed-off and sass.
Kala Gare as Anne Boleyn really has a chip on her shoulder, after being beheaded by the king, and is convinced she has the competition in the bag. Throwing out barbs and taunts to the other girls, she’s “Sorry not sorry” in her “Don’t Lose Your Head” solo, giving off Katy Perry and Arianna Grande vibes.
The Australian run of “SIX” has Shannen Alyce Quan as the swing, who performed on this evening as the sweet, stoic Jane Seymour. Her ballad “Heart of Stone” tells of the patience and fondness she and Henry had for each other before she died after giving birth to a son. Surely death has to keep her in the running to win?
After a “Swipe left-swipe right” scenario to settle on Anne of Cleaves (swing Chiara Assetta) as his next wife, Henry had taken one look at her upon meeting and decided she looked nothing like her profile picture (in reality a portrait by Hans Holbein). When Anne of Cleves' turn comes to tell her story, the show goes full Eurovision EDM in the hilarious “House of Holbein”, complete with fluoro sunnies, ruffs, and strobe lights. “Supercool” as they say.
There is a mix of musical genres throughout “SIX” but mostly up-tempo pop, with references to Beyonce and other pop divas.
The flirty fifth queen Katherine Howard (Chelsea Dawson) channels Britney Spears, with pink hair and accessories. Her number “All You Wanna Do” is a racy number. There is sexual innuendo throughout the show as well as an brief, unsettling comparison as to who had the most miscarriages.
There is a token attempt instigated by the wife who outlived Henry - Catherine Parr (Vidya Makan) to spend the last five minutes of the show retelling their own stories and strengths away from the label of “Henry VIII’s wife” but really, he is infamous because of these women too and the zeitgeist of “empowered females” and the coathanger of a competition comes second to just the pure fun and exuberance enjoyed by both cast and audience in this musical context.
Carrie-Anne Ingrouille’s choreography is tight, energetic and poppy, performed tightly and non-stop by the whole cast, who do a wonderful job of maintaining energy whilst singing and dancing throughout the entire show.
The finale reprise of songs is clever and the all-girl band - Claire Healey, Kathryn Stammers, Debbie Yap, Jessica Dunn band blend in seamlessly on stage and give a great performance. Greensleeves played on the keyboard to sound like a harpsichord was a nice historical nod.
The wives are dressed in gorgeously sculptural, sparkling costumes and perform on an attractive set - more LED lighting than leadlighting and a blend of church and “The Church” nightclub in London. It really is eye-candy.
What initially looked like a girls’ night out, was being enjoyed just as much by the guys in the front row and the grandparents who had come along too.
“SIX is a witty, bullet-point of history, presented as a glitzy pop-competition, with catchy songs and a vibrancy that will make you want to see it again!
