SIX THE MUSICAL LIVE
In Cinemas
★★★★
“captures all the magic of a live show, while also allowing the audience to view all of the incredible detail that’s gone into making Six what it is”
It’s the pipeline that every young, Fringe theatre-maker in the country dreams about — from Edinburgh Festival Fringe to West End sensation. Not only has Six accomplished those heights, but it’s also enjoyed a very successful Broadway transfer (even with that classic 2020 hiccup that we all love talking about), an Australian tour, a stint on Norwegian Cruise Lines, and endless other international tours in the works. Its original West End cast, along with one of their understudies, have even gone on to start their own girl group, SVN — and yes, that is “seven” stylized — and rightly so. Together, this cast are an absolute powerhouse. And now they’ve been immortalized as the iconic Queens of Six on film.
Having never seen the stage musical before, I went in with very little knowledge on the show itself. The premise is simple enough — the six wives (ex-wives, they wish to remind us) of Henry VIII have gathered to tell us their stories and to ask us… which one of us had it worst? One would think it’s pretty difficult to compete with being beheaded à la Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard, but the truth of the matter is a bit more complicated than that. In an effort to help us understand each of their individual tragedies, they each decide to treat us to something of a pop-solo-slam about what Henry put them through. But this is no straightforward sob story. Each Queen seeks to retake some control of her own narrative.
Six is clearly a smash-hit for a reason. The songs, written by the show’s creators Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, are catchy and clever, as are the asides written for each Queen between the ballads. The costumes, designed by Gabriella Slade, are not only gorgeous, but thoughtful in the way that they compliment each Queen. The message is heart-warming, but it definitely plays it a bit safe, as musicals tend to do — it’s entry-level, “girl power” feminism, but it serves as a great way in for young viewers who need to hear that message.
The real meat of the thing though, is the experience that the live film offers. It captures all the magic of a live show, while also allowing the audience to view all of the incredible detail that’s gone into making Six what it is. It also serves to showcase the individual performance of each stunning Queen (the original West End cast of Jarnéia Richard-Noel, Millie O’Connell, Natalie Paris, Alexia McIntosh, Aimie Atkinson and Maiya Quansah-Breed). Each one gets her moment in the spotlight, of course — and each deserves to have her performance preserved in this way. The direction by Liz Clare is absolutely commendable, it’s dynamic, exciting, and extremely engaging – and most importantly, it does the show justice.
This is a pro-shot that will undoubtedly offer widespread access to a culturally important West End show that many folks might otherwise never get to see — and if that’s not an incredible rewrite of theatre history, I don’t know what is.
SIX THE MUSICAL LIVE
In Cinemas
Reviewed on 2nd April 2025
by Stacey Cullen
Images © Universal Pictures UK
Previous ‘In Cinemas’ review:
MACBETH | ★★★★ | January 2025
