Raising a Glass to Six Years of Six The Musical!
Nikki Bentley as Aragon and the cast of SIX The Musical. Photo by Pamela Raith
Written by Penny for Theatre and Tonic
For anybody who has been living under a rock for the last few years, Six is a musical, written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, that reimagines the wives of Henry VIII into a girl group and it’s now celebrating its sixth anniversary in London’s West End. Having started life as a student production at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017 (a production I was lucky enough to see in its very unregal setting of a hotel conference room turned Fringe venue), this little slice of “herstory” has become a global smash hit. Six has racked up a billion streams, half a million Tik Tok followers, 35 major international awards, and audiences of over 3.5 million people across the world.
The battle royal over which Queen was the most hard done by has won fans of all ages, inspiring impressive cosplay in audiences and a fierce loyalty to the Queendom – with fans loving to celebrate past and current cast members.
So, in honour of its sixth birthday, I met up with the current Queens for a right royal afternoon tea and a chat about why Six is such a smash hit!
One of the show’s producers, Andy Barnes, proposed a toast in celebration of Six and shared a few of his thoughts as to why this show is so special.
Andy said:
“I think what Six says to me most importantly is that we all have a voice and I think there’s never a more relevant moment to celebrate women having a voice. I’m proud of the fact that we have a show that celebrates women, their voices and their lives. Six (the musical) is the sum of all its parts, an incredible team. It has individual Queens with incredible stories that have perhaps been missing from the history books that are now present in them as a result of two brilliant minds, Toby (Marlow) and Lucy (Moss), who created something that still stuns me every time I go and watch it.
One thing really resonated with me the first time I saw Six, the penny dropped and I realised everything I know about history has been taught to me by a man and I thought, what better way to redress that balance?
Six lets audiences access theatre. We keep prices as affordable as we can and deliver a brilliant, mind-blowing show at the same time. And it tells people that if you have a dream it can come true and there’s hope for new British writing and musicals in the West End!
Six to me most importantly is a family, an incredible team of people (whether they’re on stage, behind the scenes or in the office). What I love about this show is that once you join the team, you’re a Queen for life”.
I wanted to find out more about this brilliant family and asked the Queens what’s the best thing about being part of the Tudor Von Trapps (or even the Royalling Stones)?!
Janiq Charles (Parr): The music is incredible, all the songs get you moving in different ways first. The first number, “Ex Wives”, the way it starts with the bass thundering through auditorium sends shivers down my spine. To be on stage during that with so many incredibly talented ladies is an honour. One other important thing I love is the fact we’re so diverse in culture and background. I’m from Trinidad and Tobago and when I go and see other shows I want to see myself represented, so if my presence on stage influences other young women and anyone from a diverse background to say “I can see myself up there”, it’s an honour to be able to do that.
Meg Dixon-Brasil (Super Swing): It’s so nice to be involved in a show that is so meaningful to a young audience, it’s really special that we’re inspiring young girls and women.
Ellie Jane Grant (Super Swing): Me and Meg get the best of the Six world (being Super Swings). All of the Queens are amazing, each one has her own individual vocal style based on different pop stars, her own flair and sass.
Hannah Lowther (Alternate Howard and Parr): Getting to share stage with so many other incredible Queens, they’re incredible performers and we all have such a great bond on and off stage. I think it’s amazing we get to share that and show true friendship on stage.
Inez Budd (Howard): The fact is we don’t know much about Katherine Howard so I love that I’m actually able to tell her story and do her justice. I come away feeling empowered and the audience can also see themselves in each different Queen. It’s something everyone can relate to.
Thinking back to when they turned six, some of the Queens had some surprising ambitions for when they grew up:
Thao Therese Nguyen (Boleyn): If I wasn’t doing what I’m doing, I wanted to be an air traffic controller. I loved maths and science and physics and being able to control the sky is quite amazing!
Reca Oakley (Cleves): I wanted to be a professional basketball player. I had it all mapped out, I was going to go to Spain as that’s where the girls get the money and the fame! It didn’t work out!
Nikki Bentley (Aragon): I did want to perform but also wanted to be a competitive horse rider, it was “which one do I go for?” right up until I was about 18.
Naomi Alade (Alternate Boleyn and Cleves): I wanted to be a journalist or a lawyer, I like interrogating people!
Caitlin Tipping (Seymour): I was so specific, I wanted to be in Harry Potter. I’d watch it and I just wanted to be one of those kids. I’d dress in a bin bag, get a stick from the garden and watch it as if I was a witch!
Luckily for us, they chose different career paths – every six year old girl deserves to grow up to be a Queen!
As we tucked into the delicious sweet and savoury treats on offer, I wondered who our Queens would like to invite to their own royal tea parties:
Gabriella Stylianou (Alternate Aragon and Seymour): I’m probably stealing Naomi’s here, but Beyonce, Beyonce all day!
Naomi: I’d invite Michelle Obama
Nikki: Tom Hanks, all day every day, I’m obsessed! Please come to my party!!!
Caitlin: Adele, I think she’d be great at a tea party, I think she’d be jokes, she’d get drunk on champagne!
Janiq: There’s a lot of stuff going on in the world and we are seeing so many different leadership styles, so I would bring a few dictators to the party and maybe the next President of the US just to see what their reaction is and whether they learn anything from the lives of the Queens.
Hannah: Yours (Janiq) is so heartfelt, but my first though was Ariana Grande, I’d just love to sit down and meet her. There, I said it!
And finally, if there is anybody out there who hasn’t got round to seeing Six yet, why should they come along to the show?
Thao: It’s such an exhilarating roller-coaster. It’s short, snappy, powerful and educational, there are so many reasons to come and see the show!
Naomi: I think that there’s never a time we shouldn’t be empowering women and Six is a show that does that. It shows you six very different people and yet they empower each other. The whole message of the show is we’re not competing, we’re all equal. I think if people want to give energy to empower women in a time when it’s so necessary, then see the show.
Inez: If you like a pop concert style musical then come and see Six for a fun history lesson!
Janiq: As we go into our seventh year, you need to come and see Six. If you want to rock out, to be entertained, and to experience amazing vocals and top tier lighting. You’ll feel like you’re at a Beyonce concert. FOMO is real. So don’t do that to yourself, come on down to the Vaudeville!
You can catch up with the Queens at Six the Musical, playing at the Vaudeville Theatre, now booking until November 2025.
