Six questions for six queens. Next in our quickfire series featuring the stars of smash-hit new pop concert musical SIX, about Henry VIII's wives, newcomer Maiya Quansah-Breed, who plays Catherine Parr, is in the spotlight...
From Tudor queens to pop princesses, the six ill-treated wives of Henry VIII seize the mic to tell their stories. With songs including
The cast
SIX runs at the Arts Theatre, London from 30 August to 14 October 2018. Tickets are priced £6-£39.50. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE!
Quickfire with... Maiya Quansah-Breed
Maiya plays Catherine Parr, Henry VIII's sixth and final wife. The one who 'survived' and outlived him... just. She and Henry were married from 1543 to 1547. He died on 28 January 1547. Parr married her fourth husband, Thomas Seymour, six months later but then died herself in September 1548.
What’s the fave thing you’ve learned about your queen?
After Henry died and Catherine was widowed for the third time, she married Thomas Seymour, Jane Seymour’s brother, making Jane her sister-in-law!
Who’s your fave of Henry’s other wives?
Anna of Cleves, I just think she is so cool. She got the best deal, and she didn’t change for no one - she still spoke German to everyone around her so they were forced to understand her!
Who do you think could be a modern equivalent of Henry?
I don’t think anyone compares to Henry. He was a mean-spirited man.
What’s your fave lyric from the show?
“You say it’s a pity coz quoting Leviticus
I’ll end up
In June, you gave Londoners a sneak-peek of your SIX performance at West End Live. What was that like?
It was so surreal, genuinely like an out of body experience. I was just praying I got everything we rehearsed right! It was incredible.
You’ve just had a sell-out run at EdFringe. What’s your fave memory of the festival?
There was one performance with a lady in the front row in front of me. When we sang “Six Wives” near the end of the show, this woman jumped out of her seat but no one else was standing up, so she shouted at them! Eventually, people started to stand and she was like “yeah, that’s what I thought!”. She was giving me so much energy that
The dangers of peak pop every night?
Someone help, whatâs the best way to get rid of adrenaline, so I can sleep ð© I spend all day tired ð© pic.twitter.com/3v50wemtnl
— Maiya Quansah-Breed (@mayjqb) September 5, 2018
