International smash hit musical Six has returned to the Lowry theatre in Salford, telling the tale of Henry VIII’s notorious marital history… through pop songs.
First performed by Cambridge University students at the Edinburgh Fringe festival in 2017, Six has since ruled the theatre scene with its chart-topping soundtrack and powerful female cast.
West End productions and Broadway shows have garnered rave reviews and Six has been nominated for multiple awards at the Laurence Olivier Awards.
Credit: Johan Persson. (Caitlin Tipping as Jane Seymour, Vicki Manser as Katherine Howard, Lauren Drew as Catherin of Aragon, Maddison Bulleyment as Anne Boleyn, Shekinah McFarlane as Anna of Cleves & Elena Gyasi as Catherine Parr.)
Postponed twice already, the return of the six Queens was long awaited. Queues for the Six merchandise at the Lowry outdid the queue for food twice over.
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Groups were singing the songs in the foyer, snapping their fingers and grooving their hips, hyping themselves up to finally see it live. The Six album has reached over 10 million views on YouTube.
The Queens begin on stage with the chilling ‘Ex-wives’, introducing themselves explaining how they are more than ‘just one word in a stupid rhyme’.
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Each take centre stage in turns to prove they were the the worst-treated of Henry’s wives, with clever lyrics laying bare Henry’s blatant mistreatment of women and how he got away with it.
Credit: Johan Persson
It’s historically accurate, but this time it’s herstory – Six is a re-writing of the history books and takes the crown as this year’s musical must-see.
Writers Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss – masters of comedy – fill the hour and twenty minutes with laughs, catchy lyrics and some home truths about female victimhood and empowerment.
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Each wife takes to the stage in a hip-hop, rap, techno, soul, rock battle, fighting for the crown of the worst treated by Henry VIII.
Credit: Johan Persson. (Caitlin Tipping as Jane Seymour, Vicki Manser as Katherine Howard, Lauren Drew as Catherin of Aragon, Maddison Bulleyment as Anne Boleyn, Shekinah McFarlane as Anna of Cleves & Elena Gyasi as Catherine Parr.)
The queens really do sparkle. Gabrielle Slade kills it with her modern glittery take on 18th century dress.
The costumes here are made up of corsets, puffed sleeves, skin-tight trousers, short petit-coats and delicate hair crowns, all topped off with cute heels and biker boots.
All the anthems are girl power to the max. Spice Girls meets Beyonce meets Avril Lavigne meets Little Mix with a Tudor twist.
The performances are slick and flawless. The cast of all-female power icons are set to become musical-theatre giants after Six.
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Credit: Johan Persson.
The stars are supported by their ‘Ladies in Waiting’ who are instrumental (excuse the pun) to the performance. Usually, the band sit in the pit of the theatre, but these rock-stars are front and centre jamming on the electric keyboard, drums, bass and guitar.
The performances are wonderfully overwhelming, chills are guaranteed, and tears will well with the uplift of female empowerment.
The crowd at The Lowry become a sea of beaming faces and pumping fists, with a standing ovation and cheers of ‘encore’ echoing long after the music dies.
The play spins GCSE history into a much more entertaining experience, filled with glittery corsets and banging break-up anthems.
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Teach your children the right version of history and go and watch Six – we cannot wait to see it again.
Six sexy ex-wives give you their take on the infamous stories that have defined them for centuries, and Henry VIII gets what he’s had coming for him… a revenge musical.
It’s on it’s 2021 tour – so grab your tickets online here.
Theatre
Legendary musical CATS is coming to Manchester on its UK tour next year
Emily Sergeant
Legendary musical CATS will be taking to the stage here in Manchester next year.
A brand-new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s global sensation, CATS, will embark on a major UK tour from summer 2026 following an open-air residency at Regent Park in London – including dates at Manchester’s prestigious Palace Theatre in November.
Based on Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, CATS is one of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history.
The show originally premiered at the New London Theatre in 1981, where it played for 21 record-breaking years and almost 9,000 performances.
Since its world premiere, the musical has been presented in more than 54 countries, translated into 23 languages, and has been seen by more than 77 million people worldwide – collecting a number of awards along the way.
Legendary musical CATS is coming to Manchester on its UK tour next year / Credit: Feast Creative
This new production of CATS is produced by Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, with Michael Harrison for Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals, as part of Drew McOnie’s second season as Artistic Director, and it marks the third Andrew Lloyd Webber title produced by the venue in the last decade.
Unfamiliar with the show? CATS tells the story of the Jellicle cats.
From Euston station to Victoria Grove, the strays and rebels of London gather under the Jellicle moon in the hope they’ll be the chosen one.
With a legendary score featuring well-known songs like Old Deuteronomy, Macavity: The Mystery Cat, TheJellicle Ball, and, of course, the chart-topping hit Memory, this brand-new production of CATS is gearing up to be one of the best theatrical events of 2026.
“I am very excited to see a totally new production of CATS back on the stage where it belongs,” creator Andrew Lloyd Webber said on the show’s return. “I can think of no-one better than Drew McOnie to bring a new vision to the world of the Jellicles.”
Casting and the full creative team is set to be announced in due course, as is the on-sale date and link for tickets, so keep your eyes peeled.
Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons
Theatre
13 Going On 30 The Musical at Manchester Opera House – a fresh take on the nostalgic smash hit
Amy Williams
13 Going On 30 The Musical made its world premiere in Manchester last night, and it’s a night to relive a childhood favourite film, done so brilliantly.
With the original writers, Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, as part of the team plus Andy Fickman, who has screen hits such as She’s The Man and musicals including Heathers, you know from the off this is going to be good.
If you don’t know the story, it begins with a young (13 year old) Jenna and Matty, with Jenna wishing she was one of the popular girls, and instead ‘thirty, flirty and thriving’. The next minute, she wakes up on her 30th birthday.
She got everything she dreamed of – prom queen, editor of a popular fashion magazine, and the dream guy – but lost her best friend, family and became someone she didn’t quite like.
Can she turn it around and get back to the person she once was?
I loved this film when I was closer to 13, and now watching it premiere on the stage a bit closer to 30 myself, it’s still just as brilliant.
13 Going On 30 The Musical in Manchester13 Going On 30 The Musical in ManchesterCredit: Pamela Raith Photography
There’s an original score throughout it too (with the exception of, of course, Thriller – and the whole dance routine to go with it too might I add).
Staring Lucie Jones as Jenna Rink – with previous roles on Les Miserables, Ghost The Musical and Wicked – and David Hunter as Matt Flamhaff, their voices were absolutely incredible. A special mention too to young Matt, with brilliant vocals.
13 Going On 30 The Musical brought back the Thriller dance, the famous multicoloured dress and the need to go back instantly and rewatch the film again (and make my mum watch it, who hadn’t seen the film previously but still loved the show just as much).
13 Going On 30 The Musical is on at the Opera House Manchester until Sunday 12 October and you can still grab tickets here.