These queens have had a rough couple years (and centuries), but they are now back and better than ever to reign over the West End!
These queens are ‘Six’ – the six wives of Henry the VIII – and are back together again on stage at the Vaudeville theatre. ‘Six’ has had so many starts and stops, all of course due to the pandemic. Originally an Edinburgh fringe show, written by youngsters Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow, it originally started at the Edinburgh festival and then eventually made its way to London’s Arts Theatre in 2019, then on to Broadway in March 2020 where it was shuttered a couple hours before it’s opening night! What bad luck!
But nothing stops these queens – not even a pandemic! And in this simply-written musical, the queens battle it out to see which one is the best! The queens all get to belt out a number, singing about their short term marriage to Henry, and their heartbreak. These Queens – Jarneia Richard-Nioel as Catherine of Aragon, Bryony Duncan as Anne Boyelyn, Natalie Paris as Jane Seymour, Cherelle Jay as Anna of Cleves, Zara McIntosh as Katherine Howard and Danielle Steers as Catherine Parr are all fabulous! Duncan is especially funny , in a joke that doesn’t get old, about her beheading! Each queen has their own time to shine and sing – with Zara McIntosh hands down the best song snd singer – in a show that’s a bit like the X- Factor for dead ex-queens! It’s 80 minutes of great musical numbers and laugh out loud jokes. Kudos to Moss and Marlow for this show. Lets hope Henry doesn’t get to them!
The Queens are alive again, long live the Queens!
Review by Tim Baros