A school has performed one of the first teen versions of a hit West End musical.

Students at Roedean School put on their own rendition of the Broadway show Six The Musical.  

The show at Roedean School sees each of Henry VIII’s wives retelling their story with the girls belting out wittily-worded pop ballads and raps that provide an altogether more feminist take on what horrible Henry did to them.

The show’s conceit is that each queen must put her case forward as to why she was the most hard done by the king – and in doing so they reclaim their stories from the historically male perspective.

As the six amusingly state their cases through acting and song, they begin to realise that the competition is pointless, and instead band together against the patriarchy.

The Argus: The Six queensThe Six queens (Image: Roedean School)

“This was an amazing opportunity to be one of the first schools to perform the teen version of Six. Our cast, and band ‘The Ladies In Waiting’, created such a fun and dynamic show and I feel really lucky to be working with such talented and powerful pupils in the production,” said Vanessa Clarke, the show’s director and Roedean drama teacher.

The musical was conceived by two Cambridge University students just before the pandemic and has been a hit on the West End with sell-out shows.

It aims to give Henry VIII’s wives their own voice, rather than just being known by what he did to them, as the well-known Divorced, Beheaded, Died, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived mnemonic remembers them.

The teen version, which Roedean is one of the first UK schools to perform, plays down some of the racier aspects of the show but is none the poorer for it.

Six girls at Roedean School played the queens: Gracie Gobat, Biba Sahi, Eni Issac, Ella Wong, Mitti Utrawanit and Cherrie Man.

The school said they put on “breath-taking performances” and were word perfect, which is no mean feat given the complex lyrics and fast-paced routines the show demands.