Uploaded June 2023 | Updated September 2026, 52 minutes ago
Is it worth seeing the musical SIX and (for those of you who are history buffs like me), is SIX historically accurate? If you’d like to know my answers to these questions and much more, then this is the video for you. In this History Calling podcast I’ll tell you a little bit about the background to this musical phenomenon, then offer you my review of the musical SIX based on my experience of having seen it performed in the Grand Opera House in Belfast in April 2023.
So what is the musical SIX about? Well, it you’re unfamiliar with it, this show is centred on the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII; Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves (called Anna of Cleves in the show), Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr. The plot of SIX is very simple; the former Tudor queens are forming a band and they compete with each other as to who should be the lead singer. The one who can show that she was the worst treated by Henry, wins. There are a couple of group songs, but most of this 80-minute show is mostly taken up with solos from each wife explaining her story. Henry Tudor himself never appears on stage.
Written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, the show began as a student contribution to the Edinburgh Fringe festival in 2017 and has since taken the world by storm. But how good is the musical SIX really and does it deserve all the hype?
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
OTHER VIDEOS YOU MIGHT LIKE:
SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Hb5Wjykc2hBrBddQYXDUqU
TUDOR MONARCHS’ PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0FD_vatnjVq9egboPYy8Kg0
DEATH, MURDER AND CORPSES’ PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0HqKJP-pwWUcP1OtH1hRvN4
CHRISTINA OF MILAN
youtu.be/JLgNiktAcmE
GEAR USED
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
BUY OR RENT:
The Tudors, season 1 amzn.to/3rFmveg (UK link) OR amzn.to/2VCwQ0j (US link)
The Tudors, season 2 amzn.to/3m64HIn (UK link) OR amzn.to/2VMPnHw (US link)
The Tudors, season 3 amzn.to/3wiwPwi (UK link) OR amzn.to/3BijsPB (US link)
The Tudors, season 4 amzn.to/3rNeggF (UK link) OR amzn.to/3z16S58 (US link)
Henry VIII and his Six Wives (2016 docu-drama) amzn.to/3jiCkag
Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016 docu-drama) amzn.to/3hd93vd (UK link) OR amzn.to/3wH2mr2 (US link)
BOOKS
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004) amzn.to/3k9uD4Z (UK link) OR amzn.to/3wImKIh (US link)
Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009) amzn.to/3atiEfi (UK link) OR amzn.to/36IqD5r (US link)
Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn (Wiley-Blackwell, 2005) amzn.to/3xLivgr
Gareth Russell, Young and Damned and Fair: The Life and Tragedy of Catherine Howard at the Court of Henry VIII (2017). amzn.to/3xldHhi (UK link) OR amzn.to/2VExTgg (US link)
Josephine Wilkinson, Katherine Howard: The Tragic Story of Henry VIII's Fifth Queen (London, 2016). amzn.to/3x7MxdO (UK link) OR amzn.to/3rbFuPj (US link)
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
Is it worth seeing the musical SIX and (for those of you who are history buffs like me), is SIX historically accurate? If you’d like to know my answers to these questions and much more, then this is the video for you. In this History Calling podcast I’ll tell you a little bit about the background to this musical phenomenon, then offer you my review of the musical SIX based on my experience of having seen it performed in the Grand Opera House in Belfast in April 2023.
So what is the musical SIX about? Well, it you’re unfamiliar with it, this show is centred on the lives of the six wives of Henry VIII; Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves (called Anna of Cleves in the show), Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr. The plot of SIX is very simple; the former Tudor queens are forming a band and they compete with each other as to who should be the lead singer. The one who can show that she was the worst treated by Henry, wins. There are a couple of group songs, but most of this 80-minute show is mostly taken up with solos from each wife explaining her story. Henry Tudor himself never appears on stage.
Written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, the show began as a student contribution to the Edinburgh Fringe festival in 2017 and has since taken the world by storm. But how good is the musical SIX really and does it deserve all the hype?
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
OTHER VIDEOS YOU MIGHT LIKE:
SIX WIVES OF HENRY VIII PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0Hb5Wjykc2hBrBddQYXDUqU
TUDOR MONARCHS’ PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0FD_vatnjVq9egboPYy8Kg0
DEATH, MURDER AND CORPSES’ PLAYLIST
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0HqKJP-pwWUcP1OtH1hRvN4
CHRISTINA OF MILAN
youtu.be/JLgNiktAcmE
GEAR USED
DJI Drone: amzn.to/38h1vXr (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/39hROZm (US LINK)
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3EPIK9U (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rTWScL (US LINK)
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/37CdC1r (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3vaVxjU (US LINK)
Memory Card: amzn.to/36QvcOQ (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3KeLZZs (US LINK)
Microphone: amzn.to/3MFtoaK (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/3rYtjH8 (US LINK)
BUY OR RENT:
The Tudors, season 1 amzn.to/3rFmveg (UK link) OR amzn.to/2VCwQ0j (US link)
The Tudors, season 2 amzn.to/3m64HIn (UK link) OR amzn.to/2VMPnHw (US link)
The Tudors, season 3 amzn.to/3wiwPwi (UK link) OR amzn.to/3BijsPB (US link)
The Tudors, season 4 amzn.to/3rNeggF (UK link) OR amzn.to/3z16S58 (US link)
Henry VIII and his Six Wives (2016 docu-drama) amzn.to/3jiCkag
Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016 docu-drama) amzn.to/3hd93vd (UK link) OR amzn.to/3wH2mr2 (US link)
BOOKS
David Starkey, Six Wives: the Queens of Henry VIII (Vintage, 2004) amzn.to/3k9uD4Z (UK link) OR amzn.to/3wImKIh (US link)
Antonia Fraser, The Six Wives Of Henry VIII (2nd edn, Phoenix, 2009) amzn.to/3atiEfi (UK link) OR amzn.to/36IqD5r (US link)
Eric Ives, The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn (Wiley-Blackwell, 2005) amzn.to/3xLivgr
Gareth Russell, Young and Damned and Fair: The Life and Tragedy of Catherine Howard at the Court of Henry VIII (2017). amzn.to/3xldHhi (UK link) OR amzn.to/2VExTgg (US link)
Josephine Wilkinson, Katherine Howard: The Tragic Story of Henry VIII's Fifth Queen (London, 2016). amzn.to/3x7MxdO (UK link) OR amzn.to/3rbFuPj (US link)
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
