Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived. If that’s all you know about Henry VIII and his six wives, then strap yourselves in. The fun and witty show, SIX the Musical, is returning for another Australian tour, after enjoying record-breaking seasons across the country. See Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr take the mic and belt out their stories for all to hear. The ex-wives will seize the throne at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre from August 2024, before heading to Theatre Royal Sydney from October, and QPAC’s Playhouse in Brisbane from January 2025.
SIX the Musical
This phenomenal musical started out as a student production at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017. Since then, it has expanded its reign around the globe, taking over the West End, Broadway, Australia, Canada and South Korea. It won two Tony Awards, and received a Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theatre Album. This global sensation is seen by 3.5 million people each year, and has also dominated the internet, with over 32 million views on TikTok alone.
Written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, this modern musical brings the historical figures of Henry VIII’s six wives to life. Watch them step into the spotlight, reclaim their narratives and tell their stories through energetic and catchy pop-inspired tunes.
Melbourne review 2022
Once the show starts, you feel like you’re not watching a theatre show, but a live pop concert. The six queens are absolutely fierce, dominating the stage with their powerful vocals and sharp dance moves. The stage itself is quite bare, letting the women shine on their own, with occasional accessories like sunglasses used to great effect. The six wives are great at working up the crowd, getting the audience to clap and scream, and truly helping you feel like you’re at a concert.
This historical remix is anything but boring. In a tight 75 minutes, the Tudors take inspiration from iconic performers like Beyoncé, Ariana Grande and Britney Spears to tell the audience about their lives. Each wife gets roughly the same amount of time to shine, moving in chronological order from Catherine of Aragon to Catherine Parr. As they argue, both through song and through banter, over who had it worse when married to Henry VIII, you’ll learn a bit more about the lesser-known queens, and see them from a new perspective.