Six creators on their dream cast of Henry VIII's wives: "Beyoncé could do every role"
We spoke to musical theatre masters Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss about the take-off of their careers, the skyrocketing of Six and, best of all, their dream cast of queens.
In 2019, Six the Musical opened on the West End and made history – or, as they would call it 'HER-Story' – as one of the biggest theatre sensations of the decade. The show tells the story of the six wives of Henry VIII who, instead of facing the chopping block or indeed the dread of divorce filings, team up to perform a queens-only pop concert.
Today – an ironic half-a-dozen years later – the musical still remains a crown-jewel of the London theatre scene, but has also joined the burgeoning number of theatre shows getting the on-screen treatment.
This month, a cinematic version of the 90-minute show is hitting the UK cinemas and, in preparation, we sat down with creators Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss and chatted about the success of Six and why it reached such majestic heights.
"We'll always be quite baffled about why it’s so successful," said Marlow, "When we were conceiving the show, our main criteria was: what can we write for the Fringe that isn’t going to lose the student theatre company money?"
Marlow and Moss – who have now created two West End shows in Six and Why Am I So Single? – famously (to theatre kids at least) met at Cambridge University and began working on their first project in time for the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Coming up with the concept was relatively easy they said, as they simply looked for a story people would recognise and latch on to.
"That’s all a lot of musicals are," Marlow said: "You know, The Wizard of Oz, but the backstory, Jesus Christ, but as a Rockstar, so with this it’s that neat concept of it being a story people recognise and then it’s the songs and characters that seal the deal."
"We never set out to write something that pushes a boundary or shakes things up," said Moss, "We wanted to write a show that felt fun and silly, but also had something at its core that we wanted to communicate.
"Yes, you have to want to say something with it, and with Six, it’s about questioning how men have historicised women’s stories, but we wanted to explore that in a light-hearted and entertaining way."
So, with West End domination, Broadway, plus UK and global tours under its belt, we asked where Six possibly could go next.
"Space?" laughed Marlow, "yeah," countered Moss, "we'll take it to space!" She then added: "Maybe we’ll do the full Hamilton and make a pop star A-list production or have a mix tape of famous pop stars covering the songs."
This of course led to the question of who exactly would play each role, and after saying "Beyoncé could honestly do every single part," Marlow and Moss descended into deep discussion as names were thrown out for each queen.
"Rihanna could be Boleyn, but also Charli xcx would work in the green."
"Patti Lupone for Aragon?"
"I think I would love Kim Petras as Howard."
"Billie Eilish would be fun."
"Yeah, Billie and Rihanna alternate Boleyn."
Finally, however, a full list was drawn: Patti LuPone as Catherine of Aragon, Rihanna as Anne Boleyn, Cynthia Erivo as Jane Seymour, Doechii as Anne of Cleves, Kim Petras as Catherine Howard and Beyoncé as Catherine Parr.
Speaking of Patti LuPone, the star recently appeared on the album of Why Am I So Single? When talk turned to this, Marlow acclaimed: "Patti LuPone, the icon, the legend, nothing but good things to say about her."
Moss chimed in: "We had met her a couple of times because she’d seen Six in New York and we very nervously messaged her about featuring on the album, and she said yes and came up in between nights on Broadway.
"She’s obviously a legend but she’s also so so supportive and encouraging and she just came up with so much of her own stuff with so much focus."
After the Why Am I So Single? album was released last month, the pair now turn their full attention to their next project: writing the songs for an animated film called Bad Fairies.
On this, Moss said: "It’s really fun to be involved in a different creative process and it’s so interesting to see animated films come together.
"Song writing is much easier, it’s a lot less pressure, it’s so nice not to be in charge of everything! But there’s the extra challenge that because it’s not all coming from you, you have to tap into someone else’s creativity and go along with their vision."
Marlow continued: "The song writing is definitely the fun bit you reward yourself with after the laborious bit."
I suggest that hopefully now Bad Fairies is done the two can get back to writing new songs for their own projects. At least we'd know who would be first in line for a part...
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When and where can I see Six the Musical in cinemas?
Six the Musical is currently running in cinemas across the UK, starting from 6th April. You can check out the showtimes at your nearest cinema via the Universal Pictures website, or book tickets directly through Odeon and Vue cinemas.
When and where can I see Six the Musical on stage?
Six is a near-permanent fixture at the Vaudeville Theatre on the West End. Shows run every Tuesday to Sunday and you can find tickets at TodayTix from £38.
Make sure you also check out our Clueless musical review and the best West End shows.
