Six
Underbelly George Square
Reviewed by Freddie Lee on the 16th August 2018
Six returns to the Edinburgh Fringe this year after a succesful run at the Arts Theatre in London and a UK tour. There's a lot of hype about this show and it definitely lives up to its expectations.
Six is a new pop concert musical about the six wives of Henry VIII. After 500 years of being one word in a stupid rhyme, they've 'picked up a pen and a microphone' and they're here to tell the truth about what went down all those years ago. Tonight they're divorced, beheaded, LIVE in concert!
The idea is that each of the Queens have their turn to tell their own heart-wrenching and depressing story and then the one who had the worst time got to be the leader of the band. It's not much of a story and it doesn't work that well however it's fun and the audience love it.
As the Six queens we have Jarneia Richard-Noel as Catherine of Aragon, Millie O'Connell as Anne Boleyn, Natalie Paris as Jane Seymour, Alexia McIntosh as Anne of Cleves, Aimie Atkinson as Catherine Howard and Maiya Quansah-Breed as Catherine Parr however I had Grace Mouat. As a whole, the vocals are exceptional with stunning harmonies and the standout performance for me, has to come from Jarneia Richard-Noel as her rendition of 'No Way' was fantastic. Also, Natalie Paris has to stand out as Jane Seymour for her emotional ballad 'Heart of Stone'. All the actresses bring a sense of depth to their characters that would otherwise be quite a 2D portrayal. Overall, the Queens are fierce and the highlight of the show.
Six is written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss and the music is fabulous. It's perfect and it fits the show so well and really brings the show into the 21st Century as do the costumes by Gabriella Slade. The set design by Emma Bailey as it is basically just a stage however it fits the whole concert theme. Another piece of the set which I loved was the light board display at the back of the stage as it again added to idea of it being a concert.
I've had a lot of problems while writing this review and I suppose the reason is that this show is so different and fresh that you have to see it to understand. Originally if someone said the wives of Henry VIII were going to be a musical I would have laughed and to be honest I did think 'How on earth is this going to work?' but it does and that's what makes is so special. With stellar vocals and sass to the max, you've got to go and see Six or you'll lose your head!
Six is currently running at the Edinburgh Fringe before transferring to the Arts Theatre in London on the 30th August.
Do you have a show you would like me to review? e-mail me at freddieelee@gmail.com
Thank you for the team at Six and Underbelly for inviting me to see and review their show!
