Six in cinemas review – the Queens are on the big screen, but are they still one of a kind?

After almost three years of waiting, the break-out smash hit musical Six, which continues to pack out houses in the West End, on tour, on Broadway and beyond, is making its way to UK cinemas. Brought to life by star writers Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss and telling the story of the jaded and put-upon wives of Henry VIII, the Queens are heading to the silver screen.

It’s hard not to imagine the one-act adrenaline-boost of a show doing some hearty numbers at the box office – scrolling through the show’s website sees screening locations and dates across the month of April following an initial bow on Sunday. One question remains, however: Is it a solid cinematic iteration of a much-loved, beloved air-punch of a musical?

It’s hard to envy the task that was laid in front of film director Liz Clare, capturing performances from the show’s original West End cast at the Vaudeville Theatre. Unlike more kinetic, kaleidoscopic musicals like Hamilton or Hadestown, which feature scene-by-scene design changes or big, ensemble-led choreography, Six is a closed cast of a half dozen, with all but one (admittedly excellent) costume change and an almost entirely fixed set. Allowing that to feel visually rich and interesting over the course of 80 minutes is a big ask.

Things start slowly: opening number “Ex-Wives” deploys fairly straightforward camera work, a mix of wide shots and some slightly funky, stylised close-ups. Things get more playful with the peppier “No Way” as Jarnéia Richard-Noel’s Catholic castaway Catherine of Aragon vents her fury after being spurned for the upstart Anne Boleyn – director of photography Nat Hill adding some concert-esque zip to the show.

The playfulness continues into Millie O’Connell’s now-legendary performance as Boleyn – with an amusingly desaturated overture giving way to saccharine greenish hues as the protestant revolutionary skips her way to a headless demise. It’s excellent to see Gabriella Slade’s award-winning costumes in all their gilded glory.

After this point, Clare really finds the film’s mojo: a mournful and stately “Heart of Stone” (filmed like something pulled straight from a glossy Adele Vegas residency, with the necessary crane shot) slides seamlessly into the incredibly stylised “Haus of Holbein”. Though “Get Down” may have been missing a cinematic coup-de-grace, there’s a radical intervention at 55 minutes in, just after Aimie Atkinson‘s frantic, skittish “All You Wanna Do”, that feels equal parts ambitious and assured.

This then gives way to some even more excellent camera choices – Hill deploying a Glambot-style robotic camera arm during rousing final number “Six” to up the ante. Frequent cuts to wide shots of the Vaudeville, packed to the rafters with screaming Six fans, also allows the shimmering splendour of Tim Deiling’s lighting to shine, while close-ups on the majestic work of the lady-in-waiting band is much-appreciated. You also start to pick out some brilliant creative choices: like the specific ways in which Carrie-Anne Ingrouille’s choreography builds upon and echoes itself.

As for the queens themselves, there’s something extra special in seeing the original West End production company return to the roles that they both shaped and were shaped by. Maiya Quansah-Breed’s Parr, for example, feels more refined, and emotionally acute in her rendition of “I Don’t Need Your Love”. These characters feel lived in and familiar, like watching an old friend thriving in front of a crowd.

It is during the final “Megasix” medley, as the sea of smartphones rise above the audience like a crowd whack-a-mole, that the regally refined film stands proud. Never overstaying its welcome and finding the sweet spot between artistically opulence and needless overindulgence, this is a poised and unruffled tribute to one of the best British musical tributes of the century. Crowns all round.

Listen to Marlow and Moss discuss the film for free here: