Casting has been unveiled for the touring version of the crowd and critic-pleasing musical Six which will reopen on 8 June 2021 at Canterbury’s Marlowe Theatre.
Returning touring Queens Lauren Drew (Catherine of Aragon), Maddison Bulleyment (Anne Boleyn) and Shekinah McFarlane (Anne of Cleves) will be joined by Caitlin Tipping as Jane Seymour, Vicki Manser as Katherine Howard and Elèna Gyasi as Catherine Parr with alternates Jennifer Caldwell, Cassandra Lee and Harriet Watson. The Queens are backed by the show’s all female band The Ladies in Waiting.
Six will open at the Marlowe Theatre with socially distanced seating for a three-week run from 8-27 June before playing at full capacity at venues through to 2022 including a week in Ireland at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre in Dublin (12-16 October) and a return Christmas season at The Lowry, Salford Quays from 14 December 2021 until 9 January 2022.
After Canterbury, the UK and Ireland 2021/2022 tour will visit Leeds, Blackpool, Newcastle, Hull, Plymouth, Southampton, Southend, Oxford, Nottingham, Birmingham, Norwich, Leicester, Bromley, Cheltenham, Woking, Milton Keynes, Bath, Newcastle, Dartford, Northampton, Guildford, Sheffield, Cardiff, Eastbourne, Glasgow and Bristol. Further dates are to be announced.
Written by university friends Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, the musical which was nominated in 2017 for our inaugural Best Musical Award, puts the spotlight on the wives of Henry VIII as they form a 21st century girl band. The show’s first Arts Theatre run followed a successful return visit to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and a well-received four date London run in January 2018.
Produced by Kenny Wax, Wendy and Andy Barnes and George Stiles, the show which features tracks including ‘Ex Wives’, ‘Haus of Holbein’ and ‘Don’t Lose Ur Head’, is directed by co-creator Moss and Jamie Armitage. The creative team also includes choreographer Carrie-Anne Ingrouille and musical supervisor Joe Beighton, with set design by Emma Bailey, costume design by Gabriella Slade, lighting design by Tim Deiling, sound design by Paul Gatehouse and orchestrations by Tom Curran.
When the pandemic struck Six was playing to sold out houses in the West End and across the UK and Australia. The show’s opening night in New York on 11 March 2020 was cancelled just three hours before curtain-up when the New York Governor Andrew Cuomo shut down all Broadway theatres.
As previously announced the Queens will return to their West End thrones at the Lyric Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue on 21 May.
With social distancing at indoor venues due to remain in place until 21 June at the earliest the theatre will initially operate at the same 50% capacity as it did in December last year before the current national lockdown.
Originally due to temporarily move from its Arts Theatre home to the Lyric from 14 November 2020 until 31 January 2021, the Lyric Theatre run of the rock-flavoured show is now due to run from 21 May until 22 August. The revised dates are based on the Government’s ‘roadmap’ out of lockdown and are subject to change if the Government is forced to delay any reopening dates. If indoor venues are allowed to reopen as planned from 17 May Six will return to perform nine shows a week at the Lyric with Covid-19 secure guidelines in place.
Angela Thomas
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