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Six Wives and a Widow
Jan. 31st, 2019 12:59 pmOn Tuesday, I went to see Six, the musical about the wives of Henry VIII, which I mostly really enjoyed. It was more of a pop gig than a play and was a bit too high-energy for me in places, but all the performances were committed, there was a lot of talent on show, and both my companion and I laughed a lot at the modern tweaks and historical jokes alike. The cast was pleasingly diverse in terms of both ethnicity and body type, and all six characters were brought vividly to life. There was a good mix of musical styles and I loved the glitzy costumes that evoked the period in interesting ways.
The show is set up as the six wives competing over who had the worst experience of being married to Henry. The one-upman-ship is very amusing in places but also extremely catty. When it actually crosses the line (comparing numbers of miscarriages), Catherine Parr calls a halt and suggests they should be supporting each other rather than trying to tear each other down. So, it ends up in the right place eventually, but tonal shift if very abrupt and both sides of the presentation are a bit extreme in my view.
Still, it was almost entirely tremendous fun (and very short!) and I would definitely recommend it.
This week, I also read A Far Cry From Kensington by Muriel Spark. It tells the story of Mrs Hawkins, widowed very young during World War Two, but allocated a matronly, responsible persona by her work colleagues and fellow guest house residents, due to her married name and large size. It's a well drawn slice-of-life story, which meanders a bit but has a lot of great characters and a very amusing portrait of the publishing industry. It takes some rather sharp turns, going darker than I expected in places, but overall Mrs Hawkins is a very pleasing companion.
The show is set up as the six wives competing over who had the worst experience of being married to Henry. The one-upman-ship is very amusing in places but also extremely catty. When it actually crosses the line (comparing numbers of miscarriages), Catherine Parr calls a halt and suggests they should be supporting each other rather than trying to tear each other down. So, it ends up in the right place eventually, but tonal shift if very abrupt and both sides of the presentation are a bit extreme in my view.
Still, it was almost entirely tremendous fun (and very short!) and I would definitely recommend it.
This week, I also read A Far Cry From Kensington by Muriel Spark. It tells the story of Mrs Hawkins, widowed very young during World War Two, but allocated a matronly, responsible persona by her work colleagues and fellow guest house residents, due to her married name and large size. It's a well drawn slice-of-life story, which meanders a bit but has a lot of great characters and a very amusing portrait of the publishing industry. It takes some rather sharp turns, going darker than I expected in places, but overall Mrs Hawkins is a very pleasing companion.
