Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived. The old English rhyme detailing the fates of the six wives of King Henry VIII receives an expansion in SIX: The Musical. For a limited run at Marina Bay Sands’ Sands Theatre from 14 November to 1 December 2024, you can watch the queens come to life right here in Singapore.
This is the first time the globally acclaimed musical has come to the shores of Singapore. Boasting two major Tony Awards, the musical sees the six queens back to life in a competition to determine who had the worst experience in their lives.
SIX The Musical: One of a Kind
A welcome break from the usual musical formula, SIX the Musical has a run time of only about 80 minutes with no intermission.
The atmosphere of the theatre was notably jovial and filled with excitment on the opening night, more akin to a concert than a regular musical. This theming was enhanced by the music, a 2010s era pop soundtrack with each queen being inspired by a pop diva of the era.
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Drawing from artists like Beyonce, Alisha Keys, Adele, Rihanna, and Lily Allen, each song in the musical is an earworm guaranteed to have you humming it on the way out of the theatre.
Divorced, Beheaded, Live!
The show began with the rousing opening number, Ex-Wives, which introduced each of the six queens with a memorable and upbeat song. Each queen took a solo to explain their grievances and tried to convince the others of why they should win the competition.
Don’t Lose Ur Head is Anne Boleyn’s (Yna Tresvalles) gloating and gleeful track that unapologetically speaks of her arrival from the Courts of France to the throne of England and her usurping of fellow queen, Catherine of Aragon (Billie Kerr).
All You Wanna Do is the premiere song of Katherine Howard (Lizzie Emery). At first glance, it is an Ariana Grande-style, pop ballad but quickly descends into darkness as the song goes on as it addresses the ways she was taken advantage of throughout her tragically short life. Do note that this song does have a lot of sexual innuendos and has a focus on the effects of sexual assault.
The dancing was also superb, as expected from a musical that won the Best Choreography Tony in 2022. The cast is kept small with only the band and queens on stage, and yet they consistently keep the energy high throughout the entire musical with dancing that adapts effortlessly to match the varying styles of each song.
SIX is also famous for its incredible costumes. Each queen is given a signature colour with incredible details that connect the queens to each other.
The two queens who were beheaded donned chokers, and the died/survived queens had large hoop earrings to represent their wedding rings. Glamorous and studded with rhinestones, the costumes of the queens were almost indistinguishable from the closets of the pop superstars of today.
The Verdict
By the end of the show, the charm and earnestness of the final queen, Catherine Parr (Eloise Lord), cuts through the competitiveness of the other queens to push them into the finale, Six.
As the queens set aside their differences, it did prompt some emotional sniffles from the audience, but mostly it brought a satisfactory and triumphant end to the musical.
SIX the musical promises a night of celebration, with highs that have you cheering at the top of your lungs and lows that will leave you speechless from shock. The show delivers on every front, and serves as a clear and easy entry into musical theatre for teens and tweens.
If you’re looking for an evening of fun and good music with an excellent message of sisterhood, this is it.
SIX the Musical
When: 14 November to 1 December 2024
Where: Sands Theatre at Marina Bay Sands
Tickets: Available from SISTIC
