Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived.
Until 2018, that was all most of us knew about the six wives of Henry VIII – well, that and maybe some of their names. That all changed when two students, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, decided to write a musical about them, showing them as three-dimensional, real women, trapped by a man who had little regard for them other than as breeding stock. Toby and Lucy told me, when I interviewed them last year (click to check that out), that they originally wrote SIX for their friends, never imagining that it would become a cultural phenomenon with a permanent home in the West End and Broadway, and tours in at least seven countries – not to mention coming to cinemas all over the UK in April!
SIX has now been running continuously (if we ignore the COVID gap) in the West End since 2019, and over 100 people have played the Queens worldwide. It has won two Tony Awards, a Grammy nomination, and multiple Olivier and WhatsOnStage Awards. I first saw it in June 2023 and was blown away. The idea of telling the stories as a rock concert, where the Queens (and their all-female or non-binary band) are the only ones on the stage, is genius. The way they reclaim their stories is so empowering to anyone who has ever been marginalised because of their gender or other diversity.
My two little girls have yet to see the show, but they are obsessed with the soundtrack – well, they fluctuate between SIX and Wicked, because they are so fortunate to live in a world where great female-led stories are abundant!
All of which brings me to Tuesday night, when I got to see SIX for the second time, with an all-new cast of Queens. This was their first week of performing together, but clearly they’ve been working hard in the rehearsal room, because OMG! It was even better than I remembered. I know all the songs by heart, but a studio recording does not begin to compare to seeing it “live in consort”!
In case you have been living under a rock and haven’t seen SIX yet, the concept of the show is that the six queens are going to tell their stories and the audience will decide whose is the saddest! This is a great plot device so they can each take a turn and sing a badass song, whilst jokingly competing all the way along.
as Anna of Cleves
as Catherine Parr
All of the queens in the current cast are sensational. This is no surprise as you don’t get to be in a West End show without a whole lot of talent, and you don’t get to be in SIX without being exceptional. From the start, the show had me excited and pumped. The lighting, the costumes, the harmonies, all of it just rocks.
The cast consists of Jaz Robinson as Catherine of Aragon, Thao Therese Nguyen as Anne Boleyn, Hana Stewart as Jane Seymour, Dionne Ward-Anderson as Anna of Cleves, Caitlyn De Kuyper as Katherine Howard, and Amelia Kinu Muus as Catherine Parr. As I said, they are all fabulous, and they all just own those roles. But I must admit that one queen does stand out, possibly because she’s the one that isn’t new and has been doing it the longest – Thao Therese Nguyen (in case you read that wrong, it sounds like nwin), really is exceptional as Anne Boleyn. She is just so relaxed and at home with Anne that she just has so much fun with her. Ok, it’s a really funny role, but Nguyen is so cheeky and has the ‘I’m just an innocent young lady, honest guvnor’ act down to a tee. Boleyn also has some of the best comedic moments, and Nguyen nails every one. I first saw her perform at West End Live 2024 (if you don’t know what that is, click and find out) and my SIX loving daughters were OBSESSED with her performance – my youngest now always sings “sowwy not sowwy”, imitating Nguyen’s hilarious style.
Another show highlight for me was The House of Holbein performance, Anne of Cleves’ big number. Yes, Dionne Ward-Anderson was great, but that’s not why – the lighting, the music, the choreography, all combined beautifully to create this Berlin club feel, then part of the set transforms, before her costume also transforms in a flash. It’s like every creative in the show decided that that song was their moment to collectively show off, and the result is spectacular. I had forgotten a lot of the visual surprises, so it was such a treat to see them again and be delighted as if for the first time.
I could go on and on and praise each queen individually for this and that, but I think you have probably got the message by now. It’s an incredible show, and the cast are some of the best performers in the West End. If you’ve never seen it, you must rectify that immediately, and if you have seen it – see it again, it’s even better on repeat viewing. It turns out, the real Tudor legacy is girl power with killer vocals.
SIX is at London’s Vaudeville Theatre until June 2026.
Book tickets at sixthemusical.com
Words by Nick Barr
Photos by Pamela Raith
