Six – The Musical

Talk about revisionist history, Six – The Musical takes the story of Henry VIII’s six wives and turns it on its head (okay, poor choice of words).

“Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived” is how Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr respectively introduce themselves. It’s a quirky new show created by young British writing team Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss and it has completely upended the West End. Taking unabashedly overt inspiration from the Spice Girls, the six wives are presented as modern pop stars, each telling their version of their own famous story through 80s style pop songs and spoken word. It’s more like an enhanced stadium concert than a traditional musical, and there’s loads of cheeky humour and sass.

The six queens in the upcoming Australian production are industry royals. Chloé Zuel  takes on the role of Henry VIII’s first wife the sassy Catherine of Aragon; the rule-breaking second wife Anne Boleyn will be played by Kala Gare; Loren Hunter stars as the loyal third wife Jane Seymour; the independent Anna of Cleves will be played by Kiana Daniele; taking on the role of playful fifth wife Katherine Howard is Courtney Monsma; and finally, musical maven Vidya Makan stars as the empowering Catherine Parr.

This edgy, power-packed girl group show might not please hardcore historians but it should be a treat for audiences who really, really, really wanna zigazig-ah!

Jan 4-Mar 5. Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney. $59-134+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.sydneyoperahouse.com

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By Rita Bratovich.