DIVORCED, BEHEADED, LIVE! – So scream the posters for SIX as it continues its epic 2022/23 tour with an extended stopover at Liverpool’s Playhouse for the Christmas season. And when they say LIVE, they really aren’t kidding.
The show wowed Liverpool audiences at the Playhouse during a sellout week on its first tour in 2020, prior to its West End transfer. The show’s unstoppable energy has seen it weather the storm of successive lockdowns and there seems to be no end to the appetite for it. It has already visited Liverpool’s Empire last spring, but now it is back on a stage that fits it perfectly, in a theatre that matches the intimacy of its London home at the Strand’s Vaudeville.
A history lesson has never been this much fun and, even if the show takes occasional liberties with historical accuracy, the narrative that drives it is something most of us could recite in our sleep. The thing that is probably SIX’s greatest strength is its sheer simplicity. The six wives of Henry VIII face each other off in a contest to see which of them came off worst, and the entire 80 minute span is structured around six solo numbers in which the members of this exclusive ex-wives club describe their individual fates. In the end, however, they decide that it doesn’t need to be a contest, because they have more that binds them in solidarity than sets them apart.
Successive castings of the show have been a springboard for some brilliant triple-threat artists, and the present touring cast includes alongside its principles a number of alternates and ‘Super Swings’ – those extraordinary talents who can cover multiple roles in multiple stagings of the production. On press night, yet more impressively, two roles (those of Howard and Aragon) were played by performers whose names aren’t even on the programmed roster – Rebecca Wickes and Leesa Tulley – but who blended into the team absolutely seamlessly.
Seamless is pretty much the watchword here throughout. A show that was already slick has become even slicker, and this now has to be the best produced gig-musical on the circuit. Musical presentation, vocals, choreography and sound and lighting design are all outstanding and absolutely on-point. The connection between the cast and their audience is extraordinary, and the energy in the room never flags from the opening chord to the last glitter cannon. Some shows so deep into a very lengthy tour might show signs of flagging, but this one is still as fresh as a daisy.
Family musical entertainment rarely gets better than this.
SIX is at the Playhouse until the 8th January, with limited availability for many performances, so hurry if you don’t want to miss out.
Members of the 2022 tour cast of SIX - Photo © Pamela Raith
Star Rating: 5 Stars
This review was originally written for publication by Good News Liverpool
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