Henry VIII’s six wives are back, performing as a girl group on their ‘#DivorcedBeheadedLIVE’ tour. Yes, it might seem strange, but this is the premise of Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society’s (CUMTS) first original musical to be taken to Edinburgh Fringe Festival, SiX, which is making its homecoming run at the ADC next week.

Ripped from the pages of stuffy history books, this new concert musical is written by two recent Cambridge graduates, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, and according to its website “promises to bring sass and sparkle to the stories of history’s most misunderstood women.” Taking the slot of Week 1 lateshow, the upbeat musical is set to be a fun introduction to the musical theatre scene in Cambridge for freshers, demonstrating what can be achieved by student writers and composers at the University.

“The six queens sing and dance us through some of their forgotten moments, all of which have long been hidden in the shadow of Henry”

As the musical unfolds, the six queens sing and dance us through some of their forgotten moments, all of which have long been hidden in the shadow of Henry – the man they had the misfortune of marrying. Reviews of the show at the Fringe picked up on the “catchy” songs in the hour-long concert, and it was certainly a successful run for the cast and crew. Performing daily at Sweet Venues, the show was shortlisted for best musical at the Fringe by Musical Theatre Review and was the first CUMTS show ever to sell out a whole month run at the festival in August.

CUMTS president Megan Gilbert, who plays Henry’s first wife Catherine of Aragon in the show tells me of the excitement surrounding the piece: “We were all so excited about the sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, we really hope that SiX will inspire freshers to get involved and maybe apply to write the next CUMTS original music for the Fringe. It’s a really fun show to come see as a night out and the songs will definitely get stuck in your head!”

Director Jamie Armitage reiterates his enthusiasm about bringing the show back to Cambridge: “We are all really excited to be back in Cambridge after such a brilliant reception at the Fringe! With a score of original songs, a live band on stage, and heaps of high-energy choreography, I’m sure that audiences here will love the six queens’ knock-out songs.”

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SiX runs at the ADC Theatre at 11pm between the 11th and the 14th October. Tickets start at £5 and are available at adctheatre.com/six. You can read more about the making of SiX on their website, sixthemusical.co.uk