Six Scholarly Similarities

 In my review of Six, I claimed that Six had a near identical plot to Cats. This was only a joke, but since then I have discovered an academic paper citing the same hypothesis. I have included the body of the work below:

“From Jellicles to Queens: A Comparative Analysis of Cats and Six as Non-Linear Musical Pageants”
by Dr. F. A. Catchelor of Musical Sociology, Lower Down Institute for Theatrical Overthinking

Abstract:
This paper explores the striking structural and thematic similarities between Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats (1981) and Toby Marlow & Lucy Moss’s Six (2017), two musicals with wildly different aesthetics, but eerily parallel narrative devices. Both productions utilize a non-linear, presentational format; feature characters who take turns performing autobiographical numbers; and culminate in a sort-of competition to be chosen—either for ascension to the Heaviside Layer or for emotional redemption via collective empowerment. The findings suggest that Six may, in fact, be Cats in historical cosplay.

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Introduction: When audiences first encounter Cats, confusion is common. Why are these cats dancing? What is a Jellicle? And is Grizabella okay? Similarly, Six opens with high-octane musical numbers, historical wigs, and a promise of competition—but also lacks a traditional narrative arc. While one is based on T. S. Eliot’s feline poetry and the other on Tudor tragedy reframed through pop music, both are modern myths of identity, performance, and oddly uplifting endings.

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1. The Solo Parade Format
Each show is structured as a series of solo numbers in which the cast introduce themselves:

• In Cats, characters explain their quirks via interpretive dance and vague metaphysics.

• In Six, the ex-wives of Henry VIII recount their trauma through genre-specific bangers.

This “autobiographical sing-off” format serves not as traditional plot progression, but as a character exhibition—think Miss Universe meets trauma therapy.

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2. The "Choosing" Mechanism

• In Cats, one cat ascends to the Heaviside Layer to be reborn.

• In Six, the queens initially compete for the title of “most wronged,” only to reject the premise and metaphorically crown themselves.

The mechanism is the same: present your story; await judgment; experience transformation. Except in Six, the twist is that everyone wins, feminism prevails, and no one has to ride a chandelier to cat heaven.

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3. The Role of the Audience
Both shows break the fourth wall with a wink:

• Cats pretends we’re part of the Jellicle Ball.

• Six treats us like a concert crowd, complete with mid-show banter and phone-light moments.

The audience isn’t just watching—they’re complicit, swayed, and occasionally guilt-tripped.

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Conclusion:
While Six may appear to be a sharp, contemporary remix of historical narratives and Cats a baffling dance-based fever dream, they are structurally kindred spirits. One gives us a pop concert of pain turned power; the other, a poetic purgatory of whiskers and wailing. But in both, characters tell their stories to be chosen—and in doing so, they ask the audience to witness, judge, and perhaps even understand.

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Acknowledgements:
This paper was made possible by questionable decisions, a theatre-shaped brain, and the spiritual presence of both Grizabella and Anne Boleyn. May their eyeliner always be waterproof.

In case it wasn't obvious, this is completely made up, which is why I can publish the full version. I asked ChatGPT to write a fake academic paper on Six and Cats being the same show.

Next: "Laugh Tracks and Lab Coats: A Sitcom Worth Revisiting"