Six unleashes the historic wives of famous Tudor King Henry VIII, firstly to tell their stories and then to empower them to reimagine history.
The Six are a Girl Band with elements of the classic Girl Group Sound as constructed by Phil Spector. Armed with the Gold Star studio in Los Angeles, and with the Wrecking Crew legendary session musicians.
Come forward over half a century and the two composers and creators, Lucy Moss and Toby Morley, were tasked by the Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society to come up with a musical production for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017.
From small stages to large and a debut on Broadway where Moss became the youngest director for a show.
Royal purple with a golden crown at the centre makes for a striking programme.
A darkened stage and we get a teasing build-up as each Queen is spotlighted.
Beheaded! Annulled! Lived!
Lights are blazing! The Queens are gorgeously costumed in Tudor fashion made for a contemporary concert with sexy design and stunning colours.
This is a staged concert with the songs as biographies, and minimal dialogue. There are silences which seem awkward if this was more traditional theatre.
The choreography designed to accentuate shaking your money maker, they echo the likes of Pink (here a year ago) and the current Pop divas (which we miss out on) like Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Shakira, Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande and the rest.
Six powerful voices singing in harmony carries a similar impact to Be My Baby or Then He Kissed Me.
Each Queen is presented in chronological order. Some have extensive historical literature around them. Others mostly conjecture and gossip.
Kimberley Hodgson as Catherine of Aragon is the first. The Spanish bride states her case as the most long-suffering on No Way.
I never lost control, no matter how many times I knew you lied.
Deirdre Khoo plays Anne Boleyn, and Don’t Lose Ur Head is a soft Pop Rap with cutting humour. Even as she is the first to be executed.
In contrast to Loren Hunter’s Jane Seymour, this being the Queen that Henry reputedly truly loved.
Heart of Stone is a ballad which fits the mold of a classic Brill Building song like Goffin and King’s Up on The Roof.
The four-piece band give solid support, and the sound desk meet the high expectations we have from the many concerts we have attended here. The drums in particular lead the charge on the more bombastic numbers, as you would expect.
Zelia Rose Kitoko plays Anne of Cleves, A German Queen and shrouded in some mystery as she was more a political manouevre.
The stage becomes an Electronica dance nightclub, as all six don dark shades performing to Get Down. Kitoko is the most statuesque and tries to get close to the pipes of Donna Summer.
Chelsea Dawson plays Katherine Howard, also executed after allegations of adultery.
All You Wanna Do plays on her reputation as an attractive teenager with many suitors prior to meeting a middle-aged King with a temper and health problems.
I think we can all agree that I’m a ten amongst all these three!
It is up to Giorgia Kennedy who was the last Queen, Catherine Parr, to change the narrative around the previous consorts.
Married three times before, she was educated and was the first English Queen to have a book published under own name.
I Don’t Need Your Love and Kennedy brings a heartfelt soulful interpretation which brings the other Queens in line from their often-tragic ends.
Henry yeah, it’s true/ I’ll never belong to you/ ‘Cause I’m not your toy to enjoy ‘til there’s something new.
Why not reclaim the narrative as female empowerment? The bandmembers are all women.
The Atomic concert, which has played here previously and is scheduled to play again in a few months, is a powerful and iconic Rock’n’roll concert with all women.
Six is the big finale which brings all the narratives together. Bombastic and in a good way, like Bat Out of Hell from days gone by.
There are no set or scene changes. Six is a singular concert performance that encompasses theatre. Surprisingly, a lot of history is covered in ten songs. Many would have been keen to dance if there was the space.
Rev. Orange Peel
