THE love life of Henry VIII has been the stuff of song, play, documentary, novel, television reconstruction and Fringe musical for centuries and, in its latest manifestation, has been packing out in theatres across the UK, Broadway and beyond. Now SIX has returned to an almost sold-out Bath Theatre Royal until 26th August.
This all-female rock musical about the six wives of Henry VIII, began its life as a student production, written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017. It follows the six wives as they take to the mic to tell their own personal tales, remixing 500 years of historical heartbreak into an 80-minute celebration of 21st century girl power.
The Queens are played by Nicole Louise Lewis as Catherine of Aragon, Laura Dawn Pyatt as Anne Boleyn, Erin Caldwell as Jane Seymour, Kenedy Small as Anna of Cleves, Lou Henry as Katherine Howard and Aoife Haakenson as Catherine Parr. Izi Maxwell, Tamara Morgan and Ellie Jane Grant are alternates, with super-swing and dance captain Shakira Simpson, and all-female band, The Ladies in Waiting.
The show has won 26 major international awards, including the 2022 Tony Award for Best Original Score and Best Costume Design, WhatsOnStage Award for Best West End Show 2022 and 2023, and the 2020 BBC Radio 2 Audience Award for Best Musical, plus five Olivier nominations.
Since those early days in a 100-seater room at Edinburgh Fringe, the show has become a global phenomenon. It currently has a production on Broadway at the Lena Horne Theatre and two concurrent North American tours, including a seven-week run in Las Vegas, as well as a season in Seoul, South Korea, and an Australian tour. It is also being staged in Canada and Holland this autumn. Meanwhile the London production continues in the West End at the Vaudeville Theatre and the UK tour is
booking through to 2024.
SIX is co-directed by Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage and choreographed by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille with set design by Emma Bailey, costumes by Gabriella Slade, lighting by Tim Deiling and sound by Paul Gatehouse. The musical director is Caitlin Morgan.
Pictured: Laura Dawn Pyatt as Anne Boleyn, Erin Caldwell as Jane Seymour, Nicole Louise Lewis as Catherine of Aragon, Kenedy Small as Anna of Cleves, Aoife Haakenson as Catherine Parr and Lou Henry as Katherine Howard. Photographs by Pamela Raith Photography.