Six the Musical at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen

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A review from 5D Music & Theatre writer Maria Robertson.

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This show is so popular there weren’t any review passes so luckily I’d already bought tickets to go with my family.  It is my boys favourite and we often listen to the sound track.  We considered going to see it when we were down in London last year but in some ways it seemed a waste of an evening as it’s only 80 minutes long and we knew that it was coming to Aberdeen, so decided to keep that it for home ground.  I’m so glad we have finally seen it because as its sold out reputation suggests it is just absolutely fabulous!  In some ways it really does not need a review, but I want to write it up just for my own memories.

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Most people know the story of Henry the VIII, he had six wives who, as is says in one of the songs were “divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived”!  This is the story of the six Queens, as they call each other.  Catherine of Aragon is played by Nicole Louise Lewis, Anne Boleyn by Izi Maxwell, Jane Seymour by Erin Caldwell, Anna of Cleves by Kenedy Small, Katherine Howard by Lou Henry and Catherine Parr by Aoife Haakenson.  They talk in quite modern ways but basically they tell their story rather than his story.  Or her-story, as they call it, rather than his-story!  Most of the history books focus on him, but it is the modern way to move the focus to the “fairer sex” and this show reflects that.

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The show is formatted like a competition, each of them is going to tell how terrible their story was, and see how much they can get them audience to sympathise with them.  Each of them has a pretty horrific story with being taken from their home country to be his Queen, or being split from the love of their life.  Although they did all get to be Queen and live in a palace so it cannot all be bad, Anna of Cleves certainly seems to have made the most of it!

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Henry the VIII was desperate for a male heir to his throne and some of his brides didn’t please him because they could not produce this.  I did struggle a little, due to personal experience, when they started competing over how many miscarriages they had, not something to celebrate, or be excited about.

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The set is simple with musicians at the back of the stage, and some steps for the Queens to use.  It doesn’t change throughout the whole of the “pop concert”.  The show is literally just the six girls singing, just like a fun concert.  The costumes are fabulous, the lights are fabulous, the musicians are fabulous, the sing along at the end is fabulous, as is the golden confetti.  Basically the show is fabulous, we laugh, we cry, we celebrate women hood and what it is like to be Mrs to someone that is as well known as someone like Henry the VIII.  It is a story of girl power and standing up to be who you are and being an individual rather than just a dot in the history book.  It is a glorious story of history presented in a fun musical way, that makes some very relevant points to modern society at the same time.  I just cannot applaud this enough, it was just absolutely amazing.   The atmosphere in the theatre was electrifying by the end, there was clapping, screaming, and euphoria the like of which I have not seen in an Aberdeen theatre for some time.  The tour does come back to Scotland later in the year so get planning a Glasgow trip now!

Further information: https://www.sixthemusical.com/

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Maria Robertson is the Chief Music & Theatre Writer for the 5D Pop Culture Website and provides reviews & coverage of local Aberdeen music & theatre gigs. She’s an experienced writer for numerous sources and is a self-confessed live gig addict ever since seeing The Counting Crows at the Barrowlands in 1994.

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