DIVORCED, beheaded - and now live on stage! From Tudor queens to pop princesses, the six wives of Henry VIII are heading for town, like you’ve never seen them before.
In smash hit musical Six, selling out fast at Bradford’s Alhambra theatre, the wives take to the mic to tell their stories, remixing 500 years of historic heartbreak into a celebration of 21st century girl power.
The queens may have green sleeves, but their lipstick is rebellious red...
Jennifer Caldwell has taken on the roles of all six wives in the show and is currently playing Anne Boleyn. “Having had the opportunity to tell all those women’s amazing stories, to be able to play the iconic Anne Boleyn is a dream,” she says. “I learned my own little nuances. I also read - a lot - and watched documentaries to learn as much about our dear Anne as I could.
“The rehearsal process was fun; being able to go back to the drawing board and discover who my Boleyn is and to have ownership over that was really special. I feel incredibly lucky to be part of this wonderful show, which has such a great message and allows people to be, unapologetically, who they truly are.”
Six started out as a student production in a 100-seat room at the Edinburgh Festival in 2017 and went on to become a West End, Broadway and global hit. Each queen is inspired by real-life female singers, including Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Avril Lavigne, Miley Cyrus, Rihanna and Ariana Grande.
What can Bradford audiences expect from the show? “Stupendous vocals, incredible choreography, laughter by the bucket load - and a whole lotta history,” smiles Jennifer. “I want audiences to take away the message that we’re enough on our own! We don’t need to be defined by anything other than who we are. I also want them to leave with aching cheeks from smiling and laughing too hard.”
Six runs at the Alhambra from November 1-5.
* ALSO heading for the Alhambra this autumn is a much-loved musical that burst from the pages of Roddy Doyle’s best-selling novel, The Commitments. “The world’s hardest working soul band” are back in a new production, showcasing more than 20 soul classics including Try a Little Tenderness, In the Midnight Hour, Mustang Sally and Night Train.
Running at the Alhambra from November 14-19, The Commitments is the story of Jimmy Rabbitte, who transforms an unlikely bunch of amateurs into “the finest soul band Dublin has ever produced”.
Placing a classified ad in a local paper, Jimmy auditions a series of wannabes for his band, The Commitments. There are laughs along the way as the members get to know each other, and their instruments, muddling through rehearsals for their first gig. Just as they improve and begin to get a name for themselves, it all goes very wrong.
Former Coronation Street star Nigel Pivaro, who plays Jimmy’s ‘Da’, says: “It’s a story that resonates across the years about people who, though distant from the music’s origins, find communion and expression in Motown - a genre borne out of oppression which the characters embrace as their own. The Motown sound is as vibrant today as when it first burst through in the Sixties.”
* OVER at Bingley, West End star Rosemary Ashe pays tribute to national treasure Dora Bryan.
Over nearly eight decades Dora did it all - panto, Carry On and Shakespeare to Last of the Summer Wine and Ab Fab and her Bafta-winning performance in 1961 kitchen sink classic A Taste Of Honey.
Olivier Award nominee Rosemary Ashe, who has starred in shows such as The Phantom of the Opera and Mary Poppins, and theatre star Paul Knight pay tribute to Dora in a musical voyage through her eventful, often turbulent life and recreates some of her best-loved theatrical creations.
Rosemary, who also wrote Adorable Dora, says: “I’ve always been a huge fan of Dora and during a clear-out in lockdown I discovered an old cassette of hers which inspired me to write the show. After months of research into her life, and speaking with many people who had known and worked with her, Adorable Dora was born. It’s a privilege to keep her spirit alive on stage.”
Adorable Dora is at Bingley Arts Centre on Friday, November 4 at 7pm. Visit bingleyartscentre.co.uk
* CALLING all bookworms...this week saw the launched of Ink Slingers: Farsley Literature Festival, running until November 22. Guests include Esme Young of TV’s Great British Sewing Bee, comic Robin Ince from Radio 4’s The Infinite Monkey Cage and explorer and TV presenter Benedict Allen.
The festival is a collaboration between independent bookshop Truman Books and Trouble at Mill Events, supported by Sunny Bank Mills and Leeds Libraries. Events include a spooky evening of candlelit MR James ghost stories told by Robert Lloyd Parry and author panels featuring Yorkshire romantic comedy writer Alexandra Potter, Bradford crime writer AA Dhand, Jill Liddington, whose book Female Fortune inspired TV hit Gentleman Jack.
Dick Bonham, director of Trouble at Mill Events, said “We’re excited to hear what people think. If it’s successful we’ll bring it back next year!” Visit farsleylit.co.uk
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