University Drama Studios, Sheffield – until 10th February
Reviewed by Carol Crann
5*****
SIX is the story of the six wives of Henry VIII, but with a very modern twist. The wives are staging a pop concert, and in order to find out who will lead the group, they decide to have a singing battle. This competition will be won by the wife who is deemed to have suffered the most at the hands of the infamous king – and the ladies go out of their way to try and prove who had it the toughest. They soon realise, though, that their legacy is only because of one man and they no longer want that to define them. So they decide to rewrite their own stories – because they can!
I was invited to the dress rehearsal of this performance by the Splinters Theatre Group, who work with young people between the ages of 14 and 30 and have been performing in Sheffield for over 30 years. For this show they decided to have two casts, a challenge in itself, but with such an iconic show, with some incredible numbers and six very sassy characters, I was concerned that they had bitten off more than they could chew. But boy did they prove me wrong! So much so that I stayed to see both casts, and I left the theatre absolutely buzzing! A few issues with sound in the first performance were quickly rectified in the second, and some of the subsequent individual renditions actually gave me goosebumps.
Not only did the twelve young ladies have amazing voices and delivered very impressive versions of all of the incredible songs in the show, but they also had a enviable stage presence throughout the performance. The choreography was spot on, and they managed to maintain their energy levels right to the end of the show – which is no mean feat in a show that is entirely centred around the six of them.
I was also impressed by the lighting – with lines of bulbs that moved and changed colour constantly to emphasise the mood of what was happening on stage, doing so without detracting from the power of the performance. The costumes, meanwhile, were in keeping not only with the characters, but – importantly – with the age of the performers as well.
A brilliant performance by a very talented cast. By the end of the show, everyone was up and dancing in their seats – and this was only the dress rehearsal!