All you wanna do, all you wanna do, baby
Is please me, squeeze me, birds and the bees me.
I don’t think I will ever tire of Six, the one act musical about the wives of Henry VIII. Three times in the past 18 months I have been to see it. Once in the West End, an excellent teen edition and now, the UK tour. And I have another teen youth production to review in the summer.
From the pens of Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, the show contains songs from the six wives, each detailing their own personal trials (literally) and tribulations as they battle for the place of being top queen. After the rousing opener of Ex Wives, Catherine of Aragon (LaSasha Aldredge) tells us No Way before we reach the “One, you’ve all been waiting for,” and Anne Boleyn (Vna Montarde) with Don’t Lose Your Head. Jane Seymour (Emily Dawson) then relates the sad tale of her Heart of Stone before we are transported in 90s club style to the House of Holbein where we meet Anne of Cleves (Jodie Knight) and her orders for King Henry to Get Down. Katherine Howard (Sammy Timbers), who had her fan club on the front row, told the audience All You Wanna Do before the final wife, Catherine Parr (Layla Chivandire) declared I Don’t Need Your Love.
The show is rounded off with the title track before a mega finale in MegaSix. Supporting our queens on stage are the live band consisting of Maddie Lygo (Keys and Musical Direction), Dejeante Hinks (Guitar), Alex Maseed (Bass) and Amanda Dal (Drums). All performers, singers and band members alike were on top of their game and this offering was as powerful and funny as ever. One item that I was unsure of in this production, though, was the use of regional accents, but each to their own and I can’t criticise wanting to put an individual identity to a show. All in all, a great night out and fully deserving of the standing ovation.
Cheers.
Antony N Britt
*Some photos taken from the public domain.
Antony N Britt - Author 