Six the Musical
Theatre Royal, Sydney
Wednesday 14 October 2026 (opening night)
Review by Heather Campbell
Like many theatre-goers in Sydney, and indeed around Australia and the world, I arrived at Six having seen it before. Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’s musical juggernaut continues to pack houses with remarkable consistency, and it is easy to understand why. As a high-energy 90-minute show (no interval), Six transforms the stories of the infamous wives of Henry VIII into a contemporary pop concert, delivering catchy earworms and powerhouse vocals at a thrilling pace.
The show forgoes a traditional narrative structure in favour of anthology-style songs, with each queen stepping forward to tell her own story through a number inspired by a different pop icon. One of the pleasures of revisiting the show is seeing new performers inhabit these well-established roles and the ways in which they bring their own personal flavour to them. All the ladies in the current line-up are exceptional performers, but special mention for me must go to Angela Brischetto, whose Katherine Howard is an immediate standout. Exuding playfulness from the outset, she commands attention throughout, and her natural star quality aligns perfectly with Howard’s flirtatious exterior.
That being said, my crown for queen of the night goes to Cara Bessey’s Jane Seymour. Seymour’s ‘Heart of Stone’ is the sole ballad in a score otherwise dominated by high-octane pop anthems and, truthfully, often suffers the fate of a ‘skip track’ when I listen to the soundtrack. This time around, however, it proved to be one of the evening’s highlights. Bessey’s performance is grounded, thoughtful and emotionally sincere. She finds a stillness that creates a moment of genuine gravitas amidst the spectacle surrounding it. She also brings warmth and wit to a character generally positioned as the group’s resident dag, making what could feel one-note instead quietly delightful. My only real wish is that the Seymour costume, which is styled far more dowdily than the others, could also have received such an update.
Carrie-Anne Ingrouille’s choreography is core to the reimagining of the queens as a contemporary girl group, with a movement vocabulary that draws heavily on concert-performance aesthetics. While much of it is gesture-driven rather than technically virtuosic, it demands both energy and precision to achieve its impact. The execution here is consistently sharp, with strong isolations and accents that land cleanly. Ingrouille’s formations shift seamlessly, and on a set that is otherwise stationary – save for the abundance of flashing lights – it is the constant reshaping of the six performers across the stage that creates momentum and visual variety.
The choreographic highlight remains ‘Haus of Holbein’, a gloriously absurd collision of Euro-dance music, Tudor portraiture and satirical commentary. The shift in visual language arrives at exactly the right point in the show, injecting fresh energy while showcasing the production’s playful sense of humour. It is ridiculous in the best possible way.
The show’s book has always been its weakest element, with much of the dialogue veering towards cringe, and the framing device of the queens competing over who had the worst fate running counter to what makes Six genuinely compelling. The production is at its best when the queens are working as an ensemble, not squabbling. The eventual revelation of ‘we know it’s problematic, that’s the point’ doesn’t necessarily make it sit any better and somewhat sullies the final message of collective empowerment.
Fortunately, the show’s greatest asset is that it never lingers too long before launching into another lively number. With a rocking all-female onstage band, spectacular vocals, infectious pop-inspired music and six fiercely talented performers, there is a lot to love about Six – be it for the first time or a repeat viewing.
-Heather Campbell