Six the Musical
Congress Theatre Eastbourne
31/5/2022
Worth Losing Your Head Over
This 80-minute high octane musical will surely go down in history, or perhaps I should say herstory. SIX follows the story of Henry VIII’s incredible wives who, for the most part, suffered a short-lived marriage with the king, and swiftly endured his punishment as they were ‘divorced’, ‘beheaded’ and ‘died’ – but tonight these ladies were live, in front of a sold out audience at Eastbourne’s Congress Theatre.
In this historemix our leading ladies share their gruelling hardships as they compete with one another to prove who endured the worst life through their marriage to Henry. The show gives these historical figures an empowering and modernised platform to share their voices and their side of the story to the audience. And whilst the production is eye-opening and educating, it is so far from your standard history lecture. Fueled with high-energy powerhouse vocals, glistening costumes, flashing lights and slick choreography, this is the most fun I’ve ever had whilst learning!
The show very much dances on the line in between a musical and a concert, whilst the story runs through the songs with dialogue sprinkled in-between, it really is all about the phenomenal music. All you have to do is head over to Spotify to see how astonishing the soundtrack is, and its worldwide popularity as each song has hundreds of millions of hits. As well as the six incredible signers, I also loved the all-female backing band, The Ladies In Waiting, who provided musicianship of the highest quality.
The show covers all sorts of genres too as one moment you’re listening to the slow heart wrenchingly beautiful Heart of Stone, moving you almost to tears, swiftly followed up by Haus of Holbein, which in a nutshell is basically a truly awesome German rave with neon sunglasses and ruffled collars.
I fell in love with Gabriella Slade’s costume design which was absolutely stunning too. Historically styled dresses with modern twists, I’ve never seen so many sparkles before.
SIX is heaps of fun, humour, lightheartedness and sincerity in all of the right places. What this musical stands for though is really imperative, it is a celebration of women, and essentially sticks a middle finger up to those men in power who tried to silence them and oppression in general. It is a reminder to speak up for what you stand for, and whilst we’re discussing women from hundreds of years ago, it is all so relatable still, so its message is just as relevant within the context of modern society.
It’s an inspirational, empowering and ridiculously enjoyable night out for everyone. These Queens may have green sleeves but their lipstick is rebellious red.
SIX is currently on a UK-wide tour, to learn more visit sixthemusical.com/uk-tour.
Reviewer: Stephen Sheldrake