Tudor concert show Six will be first musical to return to London's West End

A show about the six wives of Henry VIII will become the first musical to resume performances in a West End theatre.

Six will temporarily move from the Arts Theatre to the Lyric on Shaftesbury Avenue for an 11-week run with social distancing from November 14.

The show is modern retelling of the lives of the six Tudor wives, presented as a pop concert, as the women tell their own stories.

Six will perform nine shows a week at the Lyric and capacity has been reduced to comply with guidelines for social distancing. There will also be hand sanitising, face coverings and track and trace, as well as contactless tickets, temperature testing and deep cleaning of the theatre.

The UK touring cast will also resume performances in the Lyric Theatre at the Lowry in Salford from Friday November 27 for a six-week Christmas season.

Producers Kenny Wax, Wendy and Andy Barnes, and George Stiles said: “Across our two UK productions of Six we have the opportunity to give work to 100 or so actors, musicians, technicians, stage managers, production managers, costume makers, marketing, press, ticketing and office staff.

“We accept that with social distancing it is unlikely to be economically viable, but we hope to entertain many thousands of theatregoers who have been starved of live entertainment since March.

“We hope that opening Six will help build audience confidence and bring business back to the local economy.

“We also understand that restarting productions, particularly musicals, remains impossible for most producers for reasons of scale, finance and lack of cancellation insurance.

“We continue to look forward to the day when social distancing is removed and theatre can play to 100% capacity.”