'Every age range will enjoy it': Jodie Steele talks ahead of SIX role in Wolverhampton and Birmingham

It’s an interesting title for a musical so what does the word ‘SIX’ actually refer to you may ask? The six wives of Henry VII of course, all queens in their own right who will forever now be known as the women who were individually ‘divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived’ at the hands of this legendary chauvinist.

So exactly how does an eighty-minute pop style concert which brings history to life go from being a relatively small show, to heading out on an international tour in such a short space of time?

It’s simply really - great music and super strong performances from incredibly talented women.

The production is a wonderfully female dominated environment, but with just the odd male thrown in for good measure. Even the band are all female, aptly called the ‘Ladies in Waiting.’

SIX also boasts the youngest director to every head up a Broadway musical, Lucy Moss who was just 26-years-old when the show opened on the great white way.

With nominations galore, sell out houses wherever it goes and 100 million streams of the cast recording, together with co-director, Jamie Armitage and her co-writer, Toby Marlow, it would appear Lucy Moss really has created a tour de force.

Although the score of the show could be conceived as pop rather than musical theatre, the characterisations and dramatic performances of the queens are still paramount.

The hit show is heading to the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from March 10 to 14 and then to the Birmingham Hippodrome from July 21 10 25.

Speaking ahead of the show, cast member Jodie Steele said, “SIX is an eighty-minute pop concert style musical, so not like a normal musical, and there’s no interval.

"I always say that a musical is like a pint and SIX is like a shot. Each of the six wives of Henry VIII step up to the mic to tell their own stories, because throughout history, we only ever hear Henry’s point of view and it is about time we started to hear things from the female point of view.”

Interestingly Jodie is insistent that the show is for all age groups and families. “Every age range will enjoy it and go away learning something,” she said. “We encourage you to bring the children and all your family.”

“And for those people who don’t usually go to the theatre, SIX is a really good way of introducing them to it, because it’s short, fast paced and so exciting, with a new character leading the show every two minutes.

"This is definitely the musical to start with.” she said.

We talked about Jodie’s character, Katherine Howard and it became clear she had really done her research on this ill-fated young woman.

“She was married to the king at just 16-years-old and be-headed at 19, so she had barely started her life,” she told us.

“But she didn’t have a choice because if the king said he wanted to marry you, you had to. My queen most definitely had the hardest life.

“I would not marry him.” she laughed. “As Katherine Howard, I would go and do my own thing and find my own life.

"She was highly educated and had a good head on her shoulders and that gets you far in life. As Jodie, I’d punch him in the face.

"I wouldn’t have any words for him - well, none we can include this is article.”

Besides the required level of song, dance and acting ability, the queens have to do so much more.

“We had to watch a documentary on the wives, which was incredible,” Jodie revealed.

“I focused on Katherine Howard and then we had to make presentations on our queens.

"We also our knowledge tested in rehearsals. It was a really unique way of rehearsing and I absolutely loved it.

“We also watch Beyoncé’s concert in Las Vegas, to help us with the performing style and rapping and then learned how to mould together the educational aspects and the stylistic qualities of how the show should work.

“We have hand held mics rather than the usual radio mics, so it is very much a concert with a story.”

SIX is what’s known in the theatre business as a ‘hard sing.’ I asked Jodie if she has had to adapt her voice to sing in Six, because it is very different to conventional musical theatre singing

“If you look at my CV, I have sung roles which have a definite pop quality, and they were definitely looking for that when they were auditioning us,” she said.

“You can adapt your voice with exercises and singing the songs over and over again until you find a comfortable place in your voice.”

“You also have to gets lots of sleep, eat really well, drink loads of water and really look after your voice.

“You have to make the show your priority. Because we are on tour, everyone thinks we are going out every night, but we’re not.

The queens are also executing complex choreography at the same time as singing, of course.

“The choreographer, Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, who also an association on Hamilton is just a genius,” said Jodie. “

"I feel really humbled to be in the same room with her and feel very lucky to work with her. She’s amazing so that’s pretty cool.”

Tickets for the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre are limited now, but you might bag the odd one. Call 01902 429212 or visit www.grandtheatre.co.uk to book.

For tickets for the Birmingham performances, visit www.birminghamhippodrome.com or call 0844 338 5000.