The opening number, ‘Ex-Wives’ brought a thrilling start to the show. It is always difficult to start the opening number in next to silence, but this worked well for Six and as they hit their poses, I could feel the excitement in the room nearly burst. As the song progressed the harmonies were immaculate, with much thanks to Mhairi Jennings, the musical director, and the choreography was stunning. The queens' costumes were somewhat similar to the original production, but a twist, still using the iconic colours of each queen. The six queens, while being clearly individual in their own right, worked nicely as a group which made the songs run smoothly throughout. They seemed to seamlessly become their characters, not dropping their performance at all throughout the show. It, also like the original version it is set like a concert with limited set, which ensured the stage was free for lots of movement and dances.
‘You say its a pity ‘cause quoting Leviticus, I’ll end up kiddy-less all my life’
Cathrine of Aragon, played by Scarlett Walsh, brought a sassy energy to the character and brilliant, and often comic, facial expressions . It is difficult to be the first person with a solo song, however Walsh absolutely smashed it with ‘No Way!” , vocally she was very impressive and had some beautiful low notes she also had great articulation and seemed to effortlessly command the stage.
‘’I didn’t really mean it.. But rumours spiral!’
Katie Fairs was fantastically funny as ‘Anne Boleyn’ and seemed to easily switch between dead pan and overly enthusiastic expressions, which created some well timed comedy. Katie sang ‘Don’t Lose Your head’ extremely well, however my particular favourite was her impression of Henry the eighth! She seemed to move with ease and her facial expressions were just fantastic.
‘You can build me up, You can tear me down, You can try but I’m unbreakable’
From pop songs to a ballad, which Jess Camilleri as Jane Seymour sung with a tenderness that is not easy to create, especially in ‘Heart of Stone’. It almost felt like through her facial expressions and vocals that she had cracked open her heart for the audience to see. Jess had an angelic yet powerful voice which made me completely wrapped up in her performance.
‘Sitting here all alone, on a throne. In a palace I happen to own.’
The superb Erin Burn played Anna of Cleves with a gritty edge. She was gutsy and dramatic and pleasure to watch. Erin had a nice spark in her performance of Cleve and had her fair share of humorous expressions. I loved her portrayal of Cleve’s sheer confidence in ‘Get Down’ , and the irony of her taking part in a competition over who was most harshly done by while singing about having ‘a gold lace trim’!
One of the standout songs was the iconic ‘Haus Of Holbein’. The ruffles and neon glasses were a great reference to the original version of six. It almost felt like you were in a club, the dancing and singing had the energetic feeling of going out in town and had such a hilarious tone to it. I loved that the queens were not afraid to completely go for it and doing the crazy. This certainly paid off as this was a highlight number for me.
‘I think we can all agree.. I’m the ten amongst these threes’
Mia Pearce’s performance of Kathrine Howard was a vocal powerhouse and gave an emotive and enthralling performance. Her version of ‘All you Wanna Do’ was just amazing, especially considering how difficult the song is to sing, and the topics discussed in it. Her performance progressed from Howard’s fun flirty nature to more difficult emotions, which she negotiated with great believability.
The sixth queen, Cathrine Parr was played by the lovely Seren Jones, who brought a honestly to Parr that seemed to suit the character very well. I loved her rendition of ‘I don’t need your love’. Seren brought a nice balance of powerful, impressive belts and moments of softness and vulnerability. ‘Fought for female education so all my women could independently study scripture, I even got a woman to paint my picture!’ Seren seemed to have a natural ability for comedy, finding moments even if she was not the focus to add comedic value.
Overall, Six could have easily been a professional performance, and the six queens were a fabulously talented bunch who seemed to feed off each other’s high energy. They were funny , had incredible vocals that melted together in beautiful harmonies. They were not simply acting their characters but embodied them and seemed to react off each other with perfect chemistry. The show was choreographed by Natalie Bowden and it fell nothing short of spectacular. The lights and the set made it feel like a concert and the Queens certainly made it a concert. Six is a simply must see, it is on the 15th to the 17th of May this week at New Mills Art Theatre.
‘For Five, Four, Three, Two, One more minutes, We’re Six!’