Six the Musical

Right from the start, the queens tell us in Ex-Wives:

I’m done ‘cause all this time

I’ve been just one word in a stupid rhyme.

Six wives. A rhyming mnemonic. A few portraits. Blame, defamation, and diminution. Surely these women deserved more: to be remembered as their own persons with hopes, fears and achievements? The six queens of Henry VIII all got a raw deal when it comes to history. Or should we say, her–story? They all deserved better and Six the Musical gives listeners the opportunity to cheer along, to empathise and to learn a bit more about each of these women.

In Six the Musical, each wife has a chance to shine, and each woman truly does, showing some new inflections on the caricature that they often are reduced to in history books. The four-piece band, Ladies in Waiting, truly should be labelled Queens of Music, for their part is equally important. Marvellous modern imagining of costumes shows their individuality, background and personality, sparkling under concert lighting. Lighting design uses the stage well, moving from concert to church to dancefloor to party time. Choreography by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille creates excitement and adds to varying moods, spinning on their heels to change to a new queen, and the queen of song who has inspired their solo styles.

Anna of Cleves (the one accused of catfishing with her Holbein portrait) was played by Karis Oka, a performance full of spirit, calling on German techno and Euro EDM with her sparkling dance moves matching her vocals.

Phoenix Jackson Mendoza was an enthralling Catherine of Aragorn, strong yet thwarted by politics and patriarchy. Kala Gare played Anne Boleyn and had the audience in the palm of her hand with her lively, cheeky solo.

Jane Seymour was played by Loren Hunter, with beautiful melodic tone. Chelsea Dawson brought cheekiness and depth simultaneously to Katherine Howard, and choreography and direction layered the pressures that young Katherine Howard had experienced.

Catherine Parr was played by Vidya Makan, whose vocal control delineated her storyline, moving toward her powerhouse finale and creating an emotional journey.

The upbeat songs are more than the Queens of Pop and Soul inspirations they come from. This is more than hearing a song in the style of Rihanna, or Adele, or Beyonce. The life of each of the six women is valued, and for one evening, they get tell their stories.

Rachel McGrath-Kerr

Photographer: James D. Morgan – Getty Images.