The Lowry, Salford – until Sunday 16th December 2018.
Reviewed by Sarah Cockerill
5*****
From the moment the audience took to their seats, it felt as though we were about to watch an arena tour rather than a theatre production, reaffirmed by the cheering from the crowd when the lights went up. This was no ordinary musical.
Following a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and an initial stint at the West End earlier this year, the award winning musical, Six, comes to The Lowry, Salford for two weeks before continuing it’s West End run in the new year.
Making musical history, this spectacular hit show from Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss is jam packed full to the brim with power numbers, laugh out loud humour and countless Tudor titbits to enlighten even the brightest history buff.
Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. These 6 famous words repeatedly used to describe 6 famous women of history who are defined by their fate, are given the opportunity to showcase their side of the story and provide insight into their multifaceted lives. Six provides a glimpse into the trials and tribulations faced by Henry VIII’s wives through epic musical numbers where each wife takes centre stage to tell her tale – we see Catherine of Aragon (Jarneia Richard-Noel), Anne Boleyn (Millie O’Connell), Anne of Cleves (Alexia McIntosh), Katherine Howard (Aimie Atkinson) and Catherine Parr (Maiya Quansah-Breed) perform songs that make you want to get up and join them on stage for a dance, plus a stark contrast performance from Jane Seymour (Natalie Paris) who stuns the audience into silence (and tears) with her emotional number “Heart of Stone”.
The performances from each wife was empowering, elegant and thoroughly entertaining. They did not disappoint. If Little Mix taught a history lesson, this is how it would look.
Catch the Six ladies at The Lowry, Salford until Sunday 16th December 2018.