Review by Tim Garratt
Four years ago, SIX The Musical had its Sydney premiere. The show is the brainchild of Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, two Cambridge University graduates who wrote the book, music and lyrics in 2017 while studying, and staged its first iteration at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Since that time, SIX has garnered an enormous, adoring global following. This includes a sizeable Australian audience.
After a successful Melbourne stint, SIX has returned to Sydney for a limited season, before it heads to Brisbane, Newcastle and Auckland in 2025.
Presented in the guise of a contemporary pop concert, SIX is a fresh take on the story of the wives of England’s most notorious sixteenth century monarch, King Henry VIII. The six wives – Aragon (Kimberley Hodgson), Boleyn (Deirdre Khoo), Seymour (Loren Hunter), Cleves (Zelia Rose Kitoko), Howard (Chelsea Dawson), and Parr (Giorgia Kennedy) – vie to become the lead singer of their girl group. To win the contest, each wife tells her story through song, in an effort to convince us her plight was worse than that of her fellow queens. Backed by a tight band (Claire Healey, Heidi Maguire, Kathryn Stammers, Danielle Colligan and Ann Metry), the six ultimately realise they have a platform to redefine themselves, refusing the reductive classification of mere wives of a tyrannical man.
SIX offers an abridged Tudor history – and then rewrites it – in a highly entertaining, dynamic and slick stage spectacle. Marlow’s and Moss’s lyrics are witty and well researched (notwithstanding some occasional heavy-handedness), and the music is immensely catchy pop. Leaving the show without its infectious choruses echoing in your head is virtually impossible.
Directed in Australia by Sharon Millerchip, SIX has the Theatre Royal looking and feeling like an arena. Tim Deiling’s lights bring the colour and movement of a large-scale concert presentation, and the sound design similarly replicates a live pop experience. Gabriella Slade’s Tony Award-winning costumes are a design highlight; there’s a clear nod to Tudor England in each performer’s garb, while homage is paid to the wardrobes of current pop divas.
Like the queens who preceded them, this cast is first-class, each performer barely drawing breath or ceasing to move for 80 minutes (to say these roles are demanding is an understatement). Choosing a favourite performer among this ensemble is a tough task. Hodgson, Khoo, Kitoko and Kennedy (all newcomers to SIX in 2024) effortlessly carve out distinct characters, each performance characterised by powerful vocals. Completing the sextet are SIX veterans Hunter and Dawson, who know these roles back to front, and are as impressive on opening night in Sydney as they were in previous outings.
SIX ultimately forces us to be cognisant of the lens through which we view history. How has the way it has been recorded been skewed? Does the storyteller do justice to all concerned? Should we revisit history from an alternative perspective?
This is a fun and sagacious reflection on the depiction of women in history. If you haven’t yet seen the show, make sure you get there before it leaves Sydney.
For more information: https://sixthemusical.com.au/
