Review of Six at the Sunderland Empire: Divorced, beheaded and more fun beside at the Sunderland Empire

The show gives the viewpoint of the six wives of Henry VIII, as they amusingly bicker throughout over which of them was the most ill-treated by the psychotic Tudor fatty.

Each wife takes her turn, in order of marriage, to musically assert how awful he was to them. You might think the two who went to their graves separated from their heads would be the only contenders, but it's not as simple as that.

Despite being set, sort of, in the 16th century, the music and dialogue is distinctly modern. Those hoping for a spot of hot harpsichord or fancy lute licks might be disappointed.

The wives' characters are between them modeled on those of an array of contemporary female stars including, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Lily Allen, Ariana Grande and others.

The show is very female, which was reflected in the composition of the audience with your male reviewer significantly outnumbered. Both cast and musicians are all-female.

The musical navigates a clear agenda of female empowerment, while making the tricky acknowledgment that the six would be obscure historical figures, had they not all married Henry VIII. It is pointedly asked how many people could name the wife of Henry VII.

Some serious points are made and Jane Seymour's Heart of Stone is a soulful ballad. However, it's mainly great, dancey fun and there are some good one-liners (lesser reviewers are obliged to say "I laughed my head off").

The production is actually quite sparse. The eponymous six are the only characters, there are just four (quite excellent) musicians, no changes of either scenery or costumes and the performance lasted about an hour and 20 minutes (no interval).

No matter. It's all about the performance; an energetic, meticulous performance and, although your reviewer is presumably outside the intended demographic, impossible not to enjoy.

Comedy being tragedy plus time, the largely horrendous subject matter is made entertaining and upbeat, with Katherine Howard's All I Wanna Do probably this reviewer’s favourite; laced with double entendres that the youngsters won't get (age guidance is 10+).

Finally, it was refreshing to see that cast members were allowed to perform using their own accents; from Lancashire to the USA.

Six, by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, runs in Sunderland until Saturday, July 6. But as we said at the start, it's sold out.