Henry VIII has returned from the dead, and he has a bone to pick with history. Being remembered as little more than “that bloke with six wives” apparently doesn’t quite capture the Tudor king, so there is only one solution: a musical drag extravaganza to clear his name.
Written and performed by Hannah Clift, EIGHT is gloriously bonkers from beginning to end. Part parody musical, part drag show and part Tudor history lesson that has spectacularly gone off the rails, it combines Victorian music hall, melodramatic rock and musical theatre into one wonderfully camp mix.
The parody songs are a particular highlight, with familiar hits from Meat Loaf, Celine Dion, Ed Sheeran and more – given a distinctly Tudor makeover. There is something wonderfully ridiculous about watching Henry VIII belt out familiar tunes while attempting to rewrite his reputation. Clift throws herself wholeheartedly into the larger-than-life character, capturing Henry’s infamous ego while having plenty of fun with the myths surrounding him.
Beneath the glitter and silliness, though, EIGHT has a surprisingly thoughtful streak. By giving Henry the chance to tell his own story, it playfully questions how history reduces complicated figures to a handful of memorable facts — although it never takes itself too seriously.
It is camp, chaotic and unapologetically silly, but that is exactly its charm. EIGHT takes one of Britain’s most infamous monarchs and gives him a chance to reclaim his narrative — one parody song, drag performance and Tudor tantrum at a time.
Henry VIII may have spent centuries being defined by his six wives, but after EIGHT, he finally has something else to add to his CV.
EIGHT is on until 18th August at 21:00 in Patter House.
Get your tickets here: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/eight-the-one-wo-man-drag-king-musical-parody
Written by Helena Featherstone
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