Warning: this review contains spoilers from the show.
Six The Musical is a London West-End show that was meant to be female empowerment at its finest.
So I went with a group of friends.
The premise is Henry VIII’s six wives, for once, taking centre stage to tell their stories.
Other than Anne Boleyn, the most known for her persuasion to break England from the Catholic Church, the rest have merely been a footnote in history or a notch on the larger-than-life King’s bedpost.
Battle of the wives
The stage is set, and out they come.
Looking a bit more like the Spice Girls than monarchs, each is dressed distinctively to showcase her personality.
They reflect on how they’ve stomached a lot as Henry VIII’s spouses, so the only solution is to battle it out to see who’s suffered the most.
Pitting women against each other wasn’t what we had in mind regarding female empowerment.
But we decided to be patient and wait for girl power to surely kick in later.
Bring out the contestants
Our first contestant is Catherine of Aragon. Regal and charming, she shares her tale of a woman spurned.
Next is Anne Boleyn, who has too much vixen and vanity in her personality to be taken seriously as a contender to pull at the audience’s heartstrings.
Then it’s Jane Seymour. Her ballad is breathtaking and heart-wrenching as she expresses her tragic loss.
The battle continues
With three wives down and three to go, who will be crowned the queen of misery?
Wife number four, and another Anne, is Anne of Cleves, hailing from Germany.
Any German or sensitive audience members may have to avert their eyes or push past some of the stereotypes.
It’s fair to say she gets zero wife points for pity, considering she survived and walked off with a generous settlement.
The final showdown
Wife number five is Katheryn Howard. Cousin to Anne Boleyn, she faced a similar fate of being beheaded for treason and adultery.
Last up, is Catherine Parr. To be honest, we can’t quite remember her sorrowful story.
But the good news is she survived. An interesting fact is she went on to have four husbands and was the most married English queen. Nice titbit.
Finally, and about time, Catherine Parr busts out to declare that all their spousal rivalry should be squashed. After all, they’re far more than just Henry VIII’s six wives.
Women rising (for five minutes)
However, if you’re now expecting a whole second act of female bonding, you’ll be sorely disappointed.
Women rising and empowerment gets summed up in one final five-minute song.
You’ve therefore sat through 80 minutes of the wives talking more about Henry and being his wife than uncovering who they actually are.
As far as shows go, it was also surprisingly short at just over an hour.
Be prepared to pay the same amount as you would for a West-End show that’s typically twice as long. Make your peace with that.
Otherwise, the all-women ensemble was entertaining.
You will get some good chuckles and dance in your seat to some catchy tunes.
Plus, you get to brush up on your English history.
But don’t expect to topple the patriarchy with this one.
Six The Musical is playing at Vauderville Theatre, 404 The Strand, London, WC2R 0NH until May 2025. https://www.sixthemusical.com/london