Lowkey curious but what do you think about the characterisations of the various Boleyns on the West End? (ie Millie, Vicki, Collette etc) From when I’ve seen them, they seem to have the most variance imho which makes for really interesting viewing 👍??
Anon, I’m so glad you asked…
A massive thank you to the sixcord, @ichlugebulletsandcornnuts and @sixcastappreciation for giving me a hand with a few of the Boleyn portrayals, as I obviously don’t know EVERY version of the queen. Also please do try and keep in mind that this isn’t me talking about 10 different characters but 10 different versions of the same character, so there’s going to be absolutely loads of overlap between most of the portrayals and I will just have more to say about certain versions.
(Also I physically can’t do that read more thing on mobile I’m sorry okay? Don’t anon message me I know this is annoying)
All of the Boleyns are incredibly competitive characters, wanting to win the competition and being willing to do or say anything to achieve that. I’d also argue that every Boleyn is sort of a horrible person (although an absolutely fantastic character!) although to varying extents. All versions of Boleyn are also confident, charming, loud and cheeky. Again, this is all to varying extents.
Every Boleyn from Millie onwards is chaotic, BUT I think that has more to do with the changes in script and the directing rather than everyone else “copying” Millie.
There’s also an easy argument to be made that at least some versions (if not all versions) suffer from some form PTSD due to the events that took place. However that would make this post twice as long and you’ve already waited long enough for it.
Looking back on anything from the student run of Six is always really hard because it suffered from a lot of “first instalment weirdness”, although I’d argue that the differences in Boleyn came more down to the direction that Ashleigh decided to take her in rather than the script, since Dont Lose Ur Head was relatively unchanged unlike some songs (looking at Haus of Holbein with that weird tempo and No Way/Heart of Stone’s completely different lyrics).
Despite it being the first instalment of Boleyn, I don’t think Ashleigh ever comes off as a “beta” version of Boleyn. In fact, Ashleigh has one of the most distinct Boleyns. Her accent is kind of upper class (like most of the queens from this run) so it gives off a more refined version of Boleyn that some of the others. You could also argue that she’s maybe the more calculated and cunning, and I do think that this Boleyn maybe thinks things out a little more than others, but I wouldn’t say that she’s defined by being calculated and cunning. I’d actually argue that this Boleyn feels very entitled to her position as the queen who had the worst time, and again maybe that’s the accent influencing my judgment, but it definitely makes for an interesting character. I’d also argue that this is maybe one of the most confident and self assured Boleyn. Again, accent/singing definitely influencing all of this, but this Boleyn doesn’t feel like she has anything to prove to anyone and doesn’t have to explain anything she does, leading to her sounding more offended (or even inconvenienced) than scared or shocked during the end of DLUH.
Also Six please bring back the violin in Dont Lose Ur Head. It came out of nowhere, it was hilarious and really suited the character.
Christina Boleyn is probably the most interesting to me because I genuinely believe that she didn’t mean to hurt anyone. This version Boleyn isn’t mean for the sake of being mean or hurting people before they can hurt her (which will both be discussed later down the line) , this Boleyn is mean because she completely lacks a brain to mouth filter. She still is incredibly rude and dismissive and kind of an asshole, but at least she’s not being deliberately spiteful which is a massive step up from other portrayals.
The thing is about Christina Boleyn (and Ashleigh Boleyn now that I think about it) is that Boleyn wasn’t defined by being the “chaotic” queen yet. In fact, I wouldn’t call Christina “chaotic” as such, just more carefree if that makes sense? She causes the chaos, but she herself isn’t a chaotic personality and the chaos she causes doesn’t always come off as intentional. Christina Boleyn does things because they make her happy, and to hell with anyone else. Again, it comes back to Christina not being deliberately mean. Yes it’s selfish, and she doesn’t shy away from being competitive but mostly this Boleyn is just out to have a good time. Outside the contest you could probably have a drink with this version of Boleyn.
Christina!Boleyn (cast recording):
I feel like Christina’s portrayal on the album suffers in the same way Aimie’s portrayal of Howard suffers on the album i.e all the vocals had to sound perfect at the expense of the actual performance. Christina can’t be as expressive and that’s a massive blow to the character. This characterisation also sort of suffers from the fact that this is only the song vs the other portrayals all having full shows and dialogue, so I do understand that it’s incredinly unfair to try and compare this version to the others but damn it I have opinions and you’re all going to here about them.
Anyway, it’s sort funny to me how the characterisation between the live version of Boleyn and the album are so different considering it’s the same actress. On the album, Christina Boleyn feels much more flirtatious, to the point where I think it’s the most flirtatious Boleyn yet. Maybe it’s the way she purrs? I’m not sure. And while this Boleyn does still feel carefree (although to a much lesser extent), this is overpowered by how much meaner Christina is here. For example, “I didn’t really mean it but rumours spiral” comes off as a a blatant lie in the album, versus being mostly believeable in the live version. There are meaner boleyns. But the problem is that there’s not much to offset that meanness on the album vs the other portrayals. Again, I know it’s unfair to unfair to compare it but it’s all just my opinion. I still love the album because,,,it’s an album and i want to support six and also Christina as an actress because I still think she was amazing and I hate how Christina is just glossed over sometimes.
So I feel like illie’s version of Boleyn has become one of the the de-facto version of the character for a lot of people, mostly because she has not one but two professionally recorded videos of Don’t Lose Ur Head. She is often credited as being the actress to define Boleyn as chaotic, but again I feel that has more to do with the script and the directing
On a characterisation note, I’d say Millie is actually pretty balanced between loads of elements. Millie is flirtatious, but not the most flirtatious. She’s mean, but not the meanest. She’s patronising, but not the most patronising. She’s proud of her position in history, but doesn’t revel in it. Again, she definitely feels less carefree and more like she’s chugged seven energy drinks before going on stage…but that’s why a lot of people like Millie!Boleyn and she’s always so much fun to watch. I would also say that Millie is possibly the Boleyn who the PTSD/hurting others before they can hurt her makes the most sense for, but I don’t want to hand that title to her because I KNOW that argument can be made for all the others too. But there’s also something very sarcastic about Millie’s Boleyn. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that this Boleyn doesn’t believe anything she’s saying, but there are certainly parts where Millie!Boleyn is playing into her own archetype and poking fun at misconceptions.
Grace Boleyn feels like she leans in most to the “queen bee cheerleader” archetype the most for Boleyn. She’s better than you and she knows it, and she’s going to let you know as well/put you in you’re place. There’s also something patronising about Grace Boleyn, really talking down to and belitting the other queens at any chance she gets. All the Boleyn’s talk down to the other queens, but for some reason I really notice it with Grace…ESPECIALLY when Howard is involved.
Vicki Boleyn has earned herself a reputation for being absolutely both chaotic and completely feral, and with good reason. I feel like Vicki having a much rougher accent when compared to every other Boleyn really impacts her character (absolutely no hate to Vicki’s London accent because I actually love it). And when you take into consideration Vicki literally screaming every line to Don’t Lose Ur Head, it’s safe to say that this Boleyn would be the most likely to just deck you in the face.
But I mean,,, that’s why people love Vicki Boleyn. Yeah she’s an absolute asshole, but she’s a loveable asshole at the very least. Her spiteful nature is at least balanced out with some amazing ad-libbed lines when the queens make fun of Parr and she’s so over the top that you just can’t help but like her. And I’d argue that this is the Boleyn I kind of feel most sorry for, because Vicki sounds so distressed when asking “what was I meant to do”, like she genuinely doesn’t understand why Henry suddenly doesn’t like the attitude that made him originally love her. And that’s actually super sad??? And that’s why Vicki Boleyn is still incredibly sympathetic despite being the most horrible, unlike the album Boleyn where Christina wasn’t as inherently unlikeable but didn’t have anything to offset how terrible she came off as.
Okay not going to lie, when I first listened to the Collette Boleyn Megasix I actually thought it was Millie singing because I put my phone down to check my iPad and I forgot it was a Collette Boleyn video. I’m promise I’m smart.
Even though Collette sounds like a mix between Vicki and Millie, I think @vioislit summed up her characterisation best: she kind of sounds like the most done gen z version of Boleyn. She’s done with Henry, she’s done with the other queens and she’s done with the competition. Like she’s doing this because she was to, because it’s in her contract, but she doesn’t really care either way. (That’s not an insult to Collette at ALL! I mean it characterisation wise, it doesn’t feel like Collette herself is just there for the paycheck at all). It’s like,,,Collette!Boleyn KNOWS that even if she does lose the competition, it doesn’t really matter in the long run because she’ll always be the most famous and most talked about wife even if she does lose this one little competition. One 75 minute show won’t erase the last 500 years of history.
Collette!Boleyn seems very proud of her infamy, and again this can probably be argued for all of the Boleyn’s but Collette truly seems to revel in the fact that she’s the “biggest sinner”.
With Andrea Boleyn I can really see the Avril Lavigne vibes. Andrea really plays into the “I’m really cute and innocent but I’m not” and it works REALLY well. It’s probably to do with her voice being a little higher than the others, along with her being so adorably tiny, that makes the switches between the two versions so interesting.
There’s also something about her accent, but I don’t mean that as an insult at all. In fact it really works. Andrea’s Boleyn comes off as a high schooler in some ways, who really just really is there to have a good time but isn’t actually thinking about any of the consequences of anything she’s doing. And obviously that makes her more sympathetic than Boleyns who actually know what they’re doing is wrong and will get them hurt.
Like I’ve been saying this entire time, I feel like there’s something very similar to Grace’s Boleyn with Mallory’s portrayal. That sort of “queen bee, better than you and knows it” sort of vibe is present in both versions.
But the key difference is that Mallory Boleyn is defensive. She’s probably the single most defensive Boleyn out of the lot. Her insults come split seconds after anyone tries to give examples of why they might have had the worst time, rather than waiting a few seconds like the others Boleyns do.
And I mean,,,that kind of makes sense? Throughout all of history, Boleyn is the one who usually gets her story told the most, and because no one ever really talks about Howard, Boleyn is usually seen as the one who had the worst time. And this competition could potentially strip Boleyn of that title and give it to someone such as Seymour or Howard. And Mallory Boleyn is not about to have that. Yes, this could explain why all the Boleyn’s are so competitive, but Mallory being less playful with her insults makes me think that there’s more to her Boleyn that just winning the competition for the sake of winning it.
THAT. TOOK. WAY. TOO. LONG.
What’s it been??? Like a month??? Oh my Christ I’m so glad to get this done.
Okay all jokes aside I did actually enjoy doing this post for the most part. Yeah, it took absolutely ages and some queens made me want to rip my hair out, but it was fun comparing and contrasting them all and getting all my notes together. Like I’ve said before, I’m happy to do another one of these but it would probably take just as long. Anon me with suggestions!
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2087
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