SIX The Musical has taken over the world.
An 80-minute musical, that is staged as a concert performed by the six wives of Henry VIII, shouldn’t have global appeal. But since its first staging at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe Fest, it has hit the West End and Broadway. To date, the tour has visited South Korea, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the Philippines, Singapore, Japan, Spain and China.
It’s been nominated for Oliviers and Tony Awards. Ask any teen girl with a TikTok account, and they’ll know about SIX.
As the phenomenon returns to the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, VIP Magazine sat down with Alexia McIntosh who originated the role of Anne of Cleves on the West End. She has returned to the touring company as the fourth wife of Henry…
Hi Alexia! We got to see SIX on it’s opening night and just wow! A friend described it as “the best 80 minutes of your life” and she’s not wrong. How much fun are you having on stage?
You can’t describe that feeling. Hearing how it makes others feel as well. It’s just 75 minutes of just adrenaline! You come off charge. It’s even more special when you know the stories of these women and you’re getting to tell that truthfully and you just hope you’ve done some justice. And it’s just such an honour to tell these stories in a way that’s palatable, entertaining, and inspirational. It’s just so exciting to be back and to see how the show’s grown over the years. It’s just phenomenal all the awards, the nominations. I’ve got to experience so much and this has changed my life. It’s changed how, as an actor, I perceive theatre, and it breaks down barriers. Lucy [Moss] and Toby [Marlow] created six lead roles which is unheard of. And to cast women, real women, different backgrounds, different sizes, it’s just it’s inspirational for upcoming actors to say, “I could do that.”
You’re right, every Queen gets their moments. But perhaps, your character Anne of Cleves gets the biggest moment!
[Laughs] She has that moment. When it happens, it goes off, doesn’t it?
It’s hard to remember musical ethique because it is like a concert! You want to jump up from your seats and scream!
But you can because we do break that fourth wall! Normally go to the theatre, when we clap, when we are signalled to clap and all of that. But with this, it’s in the style of a concert, it’s intimate, all the Queens are based off of pop stars. The main concept was Beyoncé’s Roseland concert and then Catherine of Aragon is Beyoncé and Anne Boleyn is inspired by Lily Allen. My character is giving modern day Doechio vibes and Nicki Minaj. Catherine Parr is Alicia Keys, so we break that fourth wall, and we tell these stories in the style of this competition. These women went through the worst times, but then it turned into this inspirational moment. We’ve overcome, we are stronger as a unit, we fix each other’s crowns, nobody’s better than anybody else. We can overcome if we’re unified in this moment, and I think that’s where that’s what you feel in the MegaSix at the end. We’ve all had our individual storytelling moments. It’s just beautiful. And the team behind the scenes are incredible as well. Everybody gets to show what their star quality is, with everybody coming together with the costume department, the choreography is incredible. It’s amazing and it’s just brilliant to be a part of that from the jump.
You’ve been with Six since day one when it opened on the West End! That’s incredible!
I know! And to still have all these great opportunities! We got to perform at Hampton Court Palace, the home of Henry VIII. It’s where these queens lived and would have walked these corridors. That was another wow moment for us, And then we were asked to do the pro-shot movie. So to be a face of this brilliant brand, it’s just…oh you just can’t write this!
We hope Henry was rolling in his grave thinking of SIX performing at his home!
You are so right! The thing is, once you start to research what these queens went through it’s really dark. There’s something about the privilege of being able to tell the stories that at the time were silenced. They would have to suffer in silence. So for this to be a worldwide phenomenal show now, where everybody is singing their stories, and it is stamped forever in history. This is what we went through, we can’t be silenced anymore from the grave. We just hope we do them so much justice, and it’s such an honour to be part of, and to tell the stories in the way we do.
SIX is very different from other musicals and when you originated the role in 2019 could you have expected it to be a global phenomenon?
I think it really grew with the MegaSix because when you give people the licence to be able to film then it spreads. Because you can share it on WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and I think when we were in Edinburgh, in 2018, we went from having a small audience to suddenly playing massive theatres. We couldn’t believe it, in a short space of time. We couldn’t believe how many people were coming to watch the show. It’s just mind-blowing especially when you’ve been in it from page to stage. The first time we all got cast in this, we hadn’t even read the script! We did West End Live, and we came together and met each other for the first time and learned these like a couple of songs that we had to perform. Then suddenly you’re thrown onto a massive stage in Trafalgar Square, singing a song that you’re not quite sure what it’s about so to go from that. No it’s been in the movie, and it been on cruise ships and in China and Japan. It’s just a dream come true, I’m sure it is for the writers and the producers also, you know.
Being Irish, it’s safe to say we had no idea about Henry VIII’s wives. Did you have any idea who Anne of Cleves was before you got cast?
No, not a clue mate! [Laughs] And I’ll say that with my chest! So to be able to research her character and now coming back a bit older and wiser and re-exploring with life experience. You can connect with more things. I mean, leaving home and touring is hard, I can only imagine, in those days to leave her palace with her family to come to a country where she doesn’t speak the language, to marry a man that’s much older than her. And arranged marriage at that and then to break down the barriers of her having this brother sister relationship with Henry and being able to get the money and the permission to go to court where it was unheard of for women at that time. She’s got you an entourage, and she’s got her palace in Richmond, and she was such a badass! I’m sure, she inspired a lot of ladies-in-waiting and women of that time.
Wow! She had such an interesting life. We’re sure she inspired people and you mentioned how empowering this show is. You must have had beautiful moments seeing young girls in the crowd looking starry-eyed at you.
I’m a mum, so I know how important it is to pass down to them and to nurture and to just want the best for others. When you’re in a show this big, you understand that you have a responsibility, I suppose. You have to be careful of how you carry yourself because you’re influencing people who are looking up to you. When you’re on stage and you’re telling these stories you see how it is affecting others. It’s beautiful because not only are they learning about Tudor history, but they’re learning how far women have come. They’re looking at us and seeing that they can achieve their dreams. When you get DMs or fan art of the queens or someone telling you how you’ve changed their life, how people have come to see this show and now they feel they can reach their dreams, that they can go forward within their own careers, it is beautiful. And you feel honoured to be chosen to do this job. And never did I think I would be here seven years later in the show, still doing interviews and going to movie premieres. It’s so amazing.
This is a show about female empowerment with an all-female cast. Do you feel that girl power?
You know, the original cost, we went through so much because the show went through so many changes in the beginning stages. You really fortify this bond that you have, because you’re in the trenches, as it’s building up. So when you’re on stage and you’re singing at the beginning: “We’re one of a kind, no category.” Not only are we in tune as the queens, that were in tune as a team. We’re telling these important stories, we’re being a voice beyond the grave for these ladies that were silenced in their times. Then you realise how lucky you are, that we actually do have a voice. And that voice is inspiring others to be courageous. And to go for their dreams and to know they can overcome what they’ve been through. There’s something about unity and fixing each other’s crowns because that’s our motto. And that’s what we did. It’s six vulnerable positions, and you’ve really got to hold each other up. There’s no “I”, we’re in this together. To do a show with them for three or four years, every day, eight shows a week. That’s your family. It’s been very special for all of us in different ways, but we’ve definitely grown. Within our own selves, and we’ve seen the show grow to what it is now, it’s just beautiful.
SIX will run at Bord Gáis Energy Theatre Tuesday 17th June to Saturday 28th June 2025.