‘Six the Musical’ Reclaims History with Pop Star Power and Feminine Fierceness

‘Six the Musical’ Reclaims History with Pop Star Power and Feminine Fierceness

Six the Musical, running only until October 20 at The Theatre at Solaire, tells the story of the six wives of King Henry VIII, who step out of the shadow of their infamous husband to reclaim their own narratives. This reimagined take by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss portrays them as fierce and influential pop stars, drawing inspiration from modern icons such as Britney Spears, Lily Allen, and Beyoncé.

The show had its origins at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017 and premiered on the West End in 2019 and on Broadway in 2021, where it won Tony Awards for Best Original Score (Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss) and Best Costume Design in a Musical (Gabriella Slade).

The UK and international touring cast features Billie Kerr as Catherine of Aragon, Yna Tresvalles as Anne Boleyn, Liberty Stottor as Jane Seymour, Hannah Victoria as Anna of Cleves, Lizzie Emery as Katherine Howard, and Eloise Lord as Catherine Parr. 

At a press conference held at The Theatre at Solaire on October 9, hosted by Mikkie Bradshaw-Volante, the six queens discussed the show’s fresh take on history and its unapologetic message of female empowerment.

Why do you think it’s important to revisit history through the lens of herstory?

Eloise Lord (Catherine Parr): I think that a lot of history is all told by the males’ perspective and I think these women, they didn’t get the chance to tell their lives and show how incredible each and every one of them are. So I think this show, as much as they’re not here to tell their stories, we’re trying our best to do them justice and show everyone what they did for the world and how incredible they are. So I think it’s so amazing that anyone can come to the show and watch us tell their incredible stories from the women’s perspective.

Billie Kerr (Catherine of Aragon): Lucy [Moss] and Toby [Marlow] have done such an incredible job making the show relatable and they’ve done that through the vessel of pop music. Growing up, obviously we listened to all the artists that each individual queen is inspired by. Like for me, Aragon is inspired by Beyonce. I grew up listening to her music, as most of us, I imagine. It’s such a great tool for audiences to be able to tap into and relate to. I just think it makes it more accessible for people to understand the narrative that we’re trying to portray because people enjoy listening to pop music. They’re gonna take away the songs and the funky beats, but people are also taking the knowledge that comes with it and our story.

Liberty Stottor (Jane Seymour): I think it’s also a reminder that although these women are not here today to tell their story, it’s not just us telling their stories and giving them a voice, but it’s a reminder that everybody has a story worth telling, worth listening to and it’s a reminder that you shouldn’t be afraid to use your voice because everybody is worth listening to.

Each character is inspired by a different pop icon. Do you personally draw from any inspiration? 

Lizzie Emery (Katherine Howard): There’s actually a scary amount of parallels between the life of Britney [Spears] and the life of Katherine Howard. You know, if you think about the conservatorship, how Britney’s been so oppressed and controlled by men and the people above her her whole life, I think it’s really moving to think about that happening now and that also happening 500 years ago. And if I were Katherine Howard, I’d be so happy that my story was being told through the means of Britney Spears.

Hannah Victoria (Anna of Cleves): I think for Anna of Cleves, it’s Lizzo, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, you know, the people that have got the bubbly personalities, that bring confidence, like body positivity. It’s all about being happy within your own skin. There’s just lots of things that we take from the celebrities’ lifestyles and personalities that really contribute to the queens that we have played today.

Liberty Stottor (Jane Seymour): I took quite a lot of inspiration from Adele to play Jane Seymour. I think because she is somebody who I have grown up listening to from a very young age and I love how raw she is with her music. I think with Heart of Stone as well, there’s a rawness to that song and it’s very much about, ‘to love is a superpower’, and I get a lot of that from Adele. She’s not afraid to show how vulnerable she is through her music.

Yna Tresvalles (Anne Boleyn): Toby and Lucy took direct inspiration from Lily Allen for Anne Boleyn’s character, but as much as she’s a British pop icon, I’ve never listened to her growing up. So for me, I took inspiration from Paramore, Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morissette, and now these days, Olivia Rodrigo. It’s that quintessential, girlhood rage of being a teenager and being so angry and bitter, and acting before you think, and not being apologetic for it.

Eloise Lord (Catherine Parr): Mainly, I think Toby and Lucy’s inspiration for Parr was Alicia Keys. The icon. I absolutely love her music so much. I used to sing her songs growing up like all the time. But personally, I’ve also taken a lot of inspiration from Jazmine Sullivan and Olivia Dean– I listen to her all day, everyday, and I just think as women, they’re all such grounded, intellectual, independent women.

How does Six impact audiences today?

Billie Kerr (Catherine of Aragon): I think this show does such a beautiful job of encouraging people to be authentically themselves. I think as women, sometimes we’re put in a box and told not to be as loud and not to take up much space. But this show actively encourages that.

Yna Tresvalles (Anne Boleyn): I think for me personally, the song Six at the end of the show, where all six women get the chance to, if they were alive today, ask, ‘How would they have chosen to live their lives instead?.’ That makes me really emotional because it’s just an offer, like these women will never be able to come back to life and take the mic and say, ‘Actually I would have chosen to do this with my life instead.’ 

This show really makes me think about all of the women in my life, and how we’re still alive today, and the power is still in our hands to make life what we want it to be, and to take care of the women in our lives and uplift them; not just women, but our family members and everyone that we love, and how we can encourage each other to take control of our own narratives. This show encourages people to think about their lives and what they want it to look like, and the legacies they want to live, and we have the opportunity now to choose that for ourselves.

Eloise Lord (Catherine Parr): There’s also not many musicals that have six women on stage. They all get their 6-minute song and they all get to back-in vocal, back-in dance to everyone else’s songs. Like my favorite thing being in this musical is, we get to fan each other’s flames and there’s like a moment for every single person in the show. I think some of the musicals just don’t have that and I think that’s what makes Six so special. We’re just like a family on stage. It’s like sisterhood, you know.

You can watch the cast perform an excerpt from the show’s closing number, The MegaSIX, in the video below. Tickets are available through Ticketworld.