Why Six the musical is the summer’s smash hit
Six the smash hit musical is a bold retelling of history complete with Tudor wives, Hamilton-level buzz and chart-busting pop tunes.
Olivia Ansell, Sydney Opera House’s Head of Contemporary Performance, had already heard the smash single Don’t Lose Your Head on Spotify when she was approached about the UK musical, Six.
With its boundary-pushing, genre-redefining style – reminiscent of the buzz that catapulted Hamilton into the record books prompting comparisons with the Broadway blockbuster in the UK — Six is a bold retelling of history making its mark as a musical theatre pop concert.
Local critics have adored the mix of witty dialogue and characters based partly on King Henry VIII’s hard done by lovers Henry, Queens Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr; and partly on pop stars Ariana Grande, Beyonce, Rhianna and Adele. They are joined by an all-female band of “ladies in waiting” in a production dubbed a “kick-ass her-story lesson”.
Deborah Jones, in her review for The Australian, said the production “feels like the future”.
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Six’s soundtrack — the second most listened to show next to Hamilton on Spotify — is garnering more than 300,000 streams every day on music site Spotify, and was a viral hit on TikTok, the social media juggernaut where users create 15-second lip sync, comedy and dance videos.
Ansell, who included Six in the SOH’s 2020 program as part of the Sydney Festival, said Six’s audience spans the Opera House’s more traditional patrons and a younger crowd.
“We’ve seen children turning up already wearing the merchandise – they’re just obsessed with it – and it’s because they have been listening to it on TikTok.
“But in saying that, people in their 60s have been saying how fantastic it is, and appreciate the contemporary score, the wit and humour which has made it such a hit,” Ansell said.
An Edinburgh Fringe Festival debut in 2017, Six was written by Cambridge University students Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow who were in their early twenties when the show first hit theatres.
“When you’ve got two young writers, who were 23-years-old when Six first debuted, you are absolutely going to attract a younger audience,” Ansell said.
Ansell adds that the musical also has a all-female creative team. “The women aren’t accessories to the plot, the women lead the narrative, and we’re seeing the story from their perspective. Six is a musical that is showing Australians and the world that women can do more than be in love in a role in a musical”.
Australian Producer, Louise Withers, who brought the opportunity to Ansell, told The Australian: “Moss and Marlow really wanted something to give women multiple opportunities to shine. They wanted each character to have their own iconic moment.”
She adds: “Six is a pop concert but it has a story. It is bite sized theatre but with an incredibly strong and powerful message, which is ‘we are stronger together’.”
“The way they have written it is extremely clever because somebody who is 14-years-old will be in the audience enjoying the show just as much as somebody who is 50-years-old. People in their 30-40s who are avid theatre goers have really respected the way Lucy and Toby have put their own stamp on musicals. It truly is all encompassing.”
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