The Australian producers of SIX, the electrifying musical phenomenon by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, confirm their Melbourne season at the Comedy Theatre from 17 June. The new Australian production has made a triumphant return to the Studio at Sydney Opera House, where it’s currently playing until 2 April. The tour will play at Canberra Theatre Centre from 23 April, and Adelaide at the newly refurbished Her Majesty’s Theatre from 21 May, before Melbourne, and then continues to Brisbane at QPAC’s Playhouse in 2023.
A witty, pop-fueled musical packed full of sass, SIX remixes the history of the six wives of Henry VIII – Britain’s notorious Tudor King – as they take to the microphone to re-tell their stories and reclaim their HERstories, once and for all: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr.
Playing the first wife of Henry VIII, the sassy Catherine of Aragon, is Phoenix Jackson Mendoza. In recent years, Mendoza has starred in Australian productions of Green Day’s American Idiot and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
The rule-breaking second wife Anne Boleyn is played by Kala Gare, who graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts and starred in productions including Bright Star and Rent at Melbourne’s Chapel off Chapel.
Loren Hunter takes on the role of the loyal third wife, Jane Seymour, adding to her unfaltering musical theatre career including roles in Strictly Ballroom the Musical and King Kong the Musical.
The independent Anna of Cleves is played by Kiana Daniele, having just won the Sydney Theatre Award for Best Newcomer for this role. Daniele has previously performed in The Production Company’s Boy from Oz and played Baby in Dirty Dancing presented by Immersive Cinema.
Newcomer Chelsea Dawson takes on the role of the playful fifth wife, Katherine Howard, having made her professional debut in the recent production of Shrek the Musical.
Musical maven Vidya Makan plays the empowering Catherine Parr. A graduate of Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Makan’s previous roles include the Australian tour of Green Day’s American Idiot and Merrily We Roll Along at Hayes Theatre Co.
Joining the SIX Australian Queens are the extremely talented swings made up of Karis Oka and Shannen Alyce Quan, Dance Captain Chiara Assetta and Resident Choreographer/Alternate Swing Cristina D’Agostino.
Since its early days as a student production in a 100-seat room at Sweet Venue during the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, SIX has continued its reign and become a global phenomenon. Its Studio Album has achieved in excess of 450 million streams across all platforms worldwide, over 3 billion views on TikTok and has recently reached Gold status.
SIX was nominated for five Olivier Awards including Best New Musical and won the BBC Radio 2 Audience Award for Best Musical at the Whatsonstage Awards. As the pandemic struck, SIX was playing to sold-out houses in London’s West End, across the UK and Australia, and had commenced previews on Broadway. As stages around the world are lighting up again, SIX has victoriously recommenced on the West End, across the UK and on Broadway and is well and truly reinstating its status of a global phenomenon.
SIX The Musical has book, lyrics and music by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss. It is directed by Moss and Jamie Armitage and choregraphed by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille. Set design is by Emma Bailey, costume design is by Gabriella Slade, lighting design is by Tim Deiling and sound design is by Paul Gatehouse. The Orchestrator is Tom Curran and Musical Supervisor is Joe Beighton.
The musical was originally produced by Kenny Wax, Wendy and Andy Barnes, and George Stiles, and was produced in Australia by Louise Withers, Michael Coppel and Linda Bewick.
Tickets go on sale March 10. For bookings and more information, visit www.sixthemusical.com/australia.
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