We only got about 15 minutes of Six the Musical on Thursday night before a technical problem halted the performance, which was eventually then cancelled. So the release of the cast recording of the show couldn’t have been better timed until I work out how when I can fit in a rescheduled visit to the Arts Theatre.
Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’ raucous reclamation of history… sorry, herstory, had a hugely successful run in Edinburgh after its initial showcase at the Arts at the beginning of the year. And it has maintained that buzz in fine style in capturing the attention of a devoted audience, a portion of whom made the atmosphere for that initial quarter of an hour totally electric.
This recording was made with the original cast of Aimie Atkinson, Christina Modestou, Genesis Lynea, Izuka Hoyle, Natalie Paris and Renée Lamb (which does feel a bit of a shame for the current cast who are the ones doing the heavy lifting for the show – Paris and Atkinson now joined by Jarneia Richard-Noel, Millie O’Connell, Alexia McIntosh, Maiya Quansah-Breed, with swing Grace Mouat).
But that’s the only caveat here. Accompanied by the band Ladies in Waiting (currently expertly led by MD Katy Richardson), this is new musical theatre at its shiniest best. Short and sharply observed, impeccably sung and filled with irrepressible spirit, this is precisely the kind of work that advances the form of musical theatre for contemporary audiences – I’m so excited for my niece and nephew to see it when it hits Manchester (spoiler – that’s your birthday presents kids!)
From the slinky groove of opener ‘Ex-Wives’ which does a brilliant job of setting the scene in terms of the lyrical humour of the show, and its world of musical influences (Little Mix, Rihanna, Destiny’s Child, and the kind of brilliantly trashy europop you hear on markets on holidays to name but a few). Natalie Paris’ (Jane Seymour) ‘Heart of Stone’ and Genesis Lynea’s (Anne of Cleves) ‘Get Down’ are personal highlights but this really is an album that you want to listen to from start and finish and again and again.
Photo: Idil Sukan
Six the Musical is booking at the Arts Theatre until 14th October, then tours to Kingston, Southampton, Manchester and Glasgow
The cast recording is now available on Spotify and Apple Music
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