SIX proves a total blast on the Chichester stage

The perfect antidote to this dismal, damp and dark November, SIX is a total blast – the perfect 75 minutes of quick-fire wit, attitude, fantastic songs and equally impressive dancing.

To a superb live on-stage band, Henry VIII’s six wives battle it out to see just who had the worst at the hands, in the bed and on the chopping block of the ghastly old rogue.

And they do so in song in the style of various modern-day divas – though it hardly matters if you can’t actually tell your Beyonce from your Adele. The point is that they are deliciously brought to life, sharply delineated and all thrown together for an evening of endless fun.

Maybe nothing can match the experience of seeing it for the first time, but Chichester is certainly the place to see it, the thrust stage ensuring a much more immersive experience than you get with SIX in, say, Southampton.

And watch it a second or third time, and maybe you’ll stand a chance when it comes to those brilliant lyrics which are delivered at such pace. The characters are great, but it’s the wit of the words that lets them be. There’s so much – and it’s so funny. There are some priceless throw-away lines – especially the thought of Henry VIII having to change his “locations settings”. This is Tudor history through the nowest of lenses – and it is brilliant, especially when it comes together with its message of female empowerment.

Do those wives really want to turn on each other when they are the ones that have had the last laugh? Without them, just how much would Henry be remembered now?

The wives – each of them – are fantastic individually, but they work together so well. It’s exactly the show we need right now, full of smiles, full of laughs… and who knows, you might just learn a thing or two.

Tickets from Chichester Festival Theatre online at https://www.cft.org.uk/