You might think I’d be the target audience for Six. I am, after all, obsessed with reframing old stories so as to give women some power they otherwise might not have in their narratives.
But while Six seems to think it’s doing that, it almost feels like the opposite.
The premise is paper thin. The six wives of Henry VIII gather together to put on a show and have a contest to see who had it worse. (Spoiler alert?) That’s really all there is to the show. Each wife sings a song about her troubles and then they spend the last five minutes trying to imagine an alternate history. That is literally all there is to the show. It’s a variety show disguised as a musical. Which, you know, fine, what do I care? Variety shows can be fun.
I resent it, though, and I suppose it’s because they’re framing it as if they are doing these historical women a favor by dressing them up in pop star girl boss outfits and giving them some bland songs with vocal calisthenics to sing. Somehow I doubt any of Henry VIII’s wives would appreciate it.
They call it a history-mix. Get it? It’s like a remix but with history.
To keep reading Your Favorite Feminist Killjoy Goes to See Six, The Musical visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog.
This is Episode 388
Song: I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am
Image be Reedturner via Wikicommons
To support this podcast:
Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!
Rate it wherever you listen or via: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartist
Join my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/
Like the blog/show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SongsfortheStrugglingArtist/
Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/emilyrdavis
Or help me pay off my tickets to and from Crete on Kofi: http://ko-fi.com/emilyrainbowdavis
or PayPal me: https://www.paypal.me/strugglingartist
Join my Substack: https://emilyrainbowdavis.substack.com/
Follow me on Twitter @erainbowd
Me on Mastodon - @erainbowd@podvibes.co
Me on Bsky - @erainbowd.bsky.social
Me on Hive - @erainbowd
Instagram and Pinterest
Tell a friend!
Listen to The Dragoning here and The Defense here. You can support them via Ko-fi here: https://ko-fi.com/messengertheatrecompany
As ever, I am yours,
Emily Rainbow Davis
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.