The West End has Six new Queens who have taken up their crowns at the Vaudeville Theatre from last 24 February, as the home-grown musical sensation continues its run, now booking until January 2027. London Mums have checked it out and loved it. The concept is simple: the six wives of Henry VIII reintroduce themselves as pop stars, each telling their story like it’s a mini concert set. It could easily lean too gimmicky, but it doesn’t. It’s sharp, self-aware, and actually very funny.
Each queen has her moment – Anne Boleyn gets some of the best one-liners, Anne of Cleves steals the show in a way that feels completely effortless, and Catherine Howard’s number lands with more weight than you might expect in a show that’s otherwise so high-energy. It shifts tone quickly, but not awkwardly.
The music is basically non-stop and very catchy – very pop-forward, very current. You can hear the influences, but it never feels like a parody. It just feels fun. And the live band on stage makes a big difference – it keeps the energy up the whole time.
What works best is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously… until it suddenly does. There’s a moment towards the end where the whole “competition” idea flips, and it actually hits emotionally in a way you don’t really see coming. It’s not heavy, but it gives the show a bit more substance than you might expect going in.
It is short – you’re in and out pretty quickly – and you do kind of wish a couple of the stories had more time to breathe. But at the same time, it never drags, and that feels intentional.
Overall, it’s just a really good night out. Easy to watch, genuinely entertaining, and a lot smarter than it looks at first glance.
SIX is written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, with direction by Lucy Moss and Jamie Armitage. Choreography is by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, with set design by Emma Bailey, costume design by Gabriella Slade, lighting design by Tim Deiling, sound design by Paul Gatehouse, musical orchestration by Tom Curran, and musical supervision by Joe Beighton, and casting by Pearson Casting.
SIX is produced by Kenny Wax, Wendy & Andy Barnes and George Stiles.
This newly announced company follows a remarkable period of international celebration for the musical. Autumn 2025 saw SIX welcome its original Japanese Queens for a special one-week residency at the Vaudeville Theatre, where the production was performed entirely in Japanese with English captions — a UK first. The residency drew both critical and audience acclaim, reaffirming the show’s global resonance and its deepening relationship with international audiences.
2025 also saw the launch of the SIX the Musical Afternoon Tea at The Soho Hotel, a limited-edition collaboration running through to February 2026. Featuring pastries inspired by each Queen, the experience offers audiences another way to immerse themselves in the world of SIX ahead of seeing the musical in the West End.
Winner of over 35 international awards, including two 2022 Tony Awards, four WhatsOnStage awards, and nominated for five Oliviers, SIX can also be seen live on stage worldwide: as well as London’s West End, the show continues to tour the UK and throughout Europe and internationally.
Photographed by Charlie Flint: @charlieflintphotography on Instagram / @CFlintPhoto on X
I am a mother of two teenagers and a London Mums magazine’s contributor. I review attractions, movies, restaurants, toys. In my profile picture, I am together with my partner in crime and London Mums’ editor Monica Costa.
