Six the Musical – Vaudeville Theatre

Picture: Pamela Raith

Six the Musical continues at the Vaudeville Theatre, London (booking until 29 October 2023).

Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Six the Musical’s new cast members received a royal welcome at the Vaudeville Theatre with Rhianne-Louise McCaulsky taking over as Catherine of Aragon, Baylie Carson as Anne Boleyn and Koko Basigara as Katherine Howard alongside Claudia Kariuki as Jane Seymour, Dionne Ward-Anderson as Anna of Cleves and Roxanne Couch as Catherine Parr.

Additionally Monique Ashe-Palmer (who appeared in the Six UK tour) and Leah Vassell have joined fellow alternates Danielle Rose, Rachel Rawlinson and Esme Rothero.

Now in its fourth year in the West End, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’ hit musical shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. The show places the wives of Henry VIII at the forefront, with each wife battling it out for the title of Queen of the Queens. It’s funny, emotional, empowering and is packed with incredibly catchy musical numbers that won’t leave your head for weeks.

For the full 80 minutes, the incredibly talented Queens deliver a performance like no other, backed by their Ladies in Waiting and with tight choreography from Carrie-Anne Ingrouille. Starting with the powerhouse that is McCaulsky, her feisty Catherine of Aragon’s rendition of ‘No Way’ gives Beyonce levels of sass and attitude. She’s followed by Carson’s Anne Boleyn who leans into the comedy element of the character, often having the audience howling with laughter.

Kariuki’s power ballad as Jane Seymour, the only one of Henry’s wives that he didn’t divorce or behead, save for final wife Catherine Parr who survived him, slows the right pace down before Ward-Anderson’s Anna of Cleves absolutely brings down the house with the dance-heavy, hip-hop inspired ‘Get Down’. Ward-Anderson’s Cleves is probably my favourite Queen I’ve seen to date.

Basigara’s Ariana Grande-esque Katherine Howard gives a stark and emotional depiction of abuse during ‘All You Wanna Do’ before Couch’s Parr ties the whole story together beautifully, with a message about female empowerment. The whole musical is a celebration of the strength of women and what can be achieved when we work together instead of competing with each other.

I’ve been lucky enough to see Six several times now and the atmosphere is always electric. Even at the outdoor space of Hampton Court Palace last year which featured the original West End Queens, there was a real buzz amongst the crowd.

The atmosphere in the Vaudeville is no different, the Queens feeding off the audience’s energy and clearly having lots of fun with the songs and choreography. It’s sassy and entertaining but there’s also the darker theme of abuse and trauma that each of these women experienced at the hands of men which is handled frankly but carefully.

From its humble beginnings at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017, Six continues to reign supreme in the West End and I hope it will continue to do so for many years to come.

Laura Jones