Often, Australians have to wait years, even decades, for a show to return after a national tour. However, Six has returned to Sydney for its third tour in the last five years, reflecting an insatiable appetite for the show in the Australian theatre community. To some degree, this is dictated by budgetary contraints; Six is a fairly inexpensive musical to make, especially compared to the biggest Broadway megamusicals. However, the musical also has a lot to say about issues of gender, empowerment and subversion, which allow a diverse range of audiences, who may not connect with the traditional musical theatre canon, to feel in touch with this show. 

Six is not your typical piece of musical theatre. It starts more like a concert, with the six queens introducing themselves. The wives of King Henry VIII, all competing to decide who had the most dismal life.

Each queen takes turns at introducing their story, with power, passion and gusto, ably supported by an all-female four-piece band and stunning light show. In the end, the queens reclaim their story. They aren’t just the wives of Henry XII. Now, they are the stars of the show. They point out that instead of rewriting HIStory, they are making HERstory. 

Stylistically, Six is very much in the vein of its contemporaries in new musical theatre. It’s not a completely sung-through musical like the megamusicals of the 70s and 80s and there’s not a whole lot of plot.

Instead, the structural cohesion relies heavily on the blend between different styles of music and between song, dialogue and even some rap. With only a bare-bones set, a lot of responsibility falls onto the six singers and four-piece band on stage and a lot of skill is required to ensure that the show holds together. 

Of the four times I’ve seen Six, this was definitely the strongest and most cohesive cast. Kimberley Hodgson kicked off the show strong before Deidre Khoo brought a huge amount of firepower to the stage. Chelsea Dawson and Loren Hunter reprised their roles well but the two stars of the new cast were Zelia Rose Kitoko and Giorgia Kennedy, who showed off powerhouse vocals in their sections of the show. The cast also gelled well together, creating a convincing and exciting atmosphere for the audience, who were vociferous in their praise on opening night. 

It was interesting to read the author’s note of Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, which suggested that, even in the seven years since the show was written, they now feel that they didn’t go far enough with the inclusion of gender diverse voices and indeed, that the show presents quite a binary view of female empowerment. This is an interesting perspective and shows just how quickly progress can be made. Yet, within the constraints of an 80-minute show, the work still does a lot to convey a series of complex issues in a fun and accessible way.

Overall, this is a very strong performance of a well-liked show, with a superb cast the defining factor in this production. As good as this show is, after this, it might be time to retire the production for a little while, if for no other reason than to give space for other fantastic musicals to come to Australia in the near future!

Rating: ★★★★1/2

Six plays at the Theatre Royal until 28^th December. For more information, click here.

Photo credits: James D. Morgan