IT’S a tale of two Annes when I catch up with performers Kala Gare and Kiana Daniele, who’ll soon be at the Canberra Theatre in “Six the Musical”.

That, of course, is the sensational pop concert-style remix of the story of Henry the Eighth and his six wives – Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Catherine Parr –  singing songs inspired by Beyonce, Lily Allen, Sia, Adele, Ariana Grande, Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj and Alicia Keys.

Retold through the eyes of the wives, now somewhere in cyberspace, the show opens with a showstopper, “Ex-Wives”, and has been publicised with the tag “divorced, beheaded, alive”, although the old schoolkids’ way of remembering them was “divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, alive”.

“Six”, now an international hit, was initially written for a UK audience, but Australian associate director Sharon Millerchip helped make the show accessible to Australian audiences by introducing Aussie accents.

Kala Gare plays Anne Boleyn, Henry’s second wife, who spearheaded a political earthquake in Henry’s break with the Catholic Church, but when she couldn’t produce a male heir, ended up with her head on the block. 

“We were given lots of material and we’ve done our research,” Gare says. She was in the original Australian cast of “Six” and adds: “It’s wonderful to go over this for a second time… the show has been written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss to strip away the myth and look at the facts.

“These were real women and there are letters remaining that give evidence of what they were like. You see these women living, giving birth and rising to the highest levels of society.”

Anne Boleyn’s father, she explains, was moving up the ladder and she was a lady in waiting to Queen Claude of France, where she acquired her sophistication, and became maid of honour to Catherine of Aragon, Henry’s first wife. Her sister had an affair with Henry, but Anne held out.

“The family used Anne as bait to woo Henry,” Gare says.

“But I do believe they must have had insane chemistry at first, even though he fell out of love.”

Gare believes there is evidence that Henry suffered some brain damage after a fall and that may have impacted upon his behaviour later on.

She praises the show’s lyrics, which she describes as “so witty, but with so much history packed into them it’s crazy”. That’s not surprising, since creators Moss and Marlow studied history and English at Cambridge.

A favourite line is: “It’s not what went down in history, but tonight I’m singing this for me”, and her big number, “Don’t Lose Ur Head”, is very, very funny.

It’s mostly funny, but there is tragedy and all the six queens have truth in their characterisations as they step up to the microphone to tell their stories.

Anne, or Anna of Cleves, played by Kiana Daniele, also in the original cast, was one of the lucky ones. Not only did she survive Henry and all the other wives, but because she agreed to an annulment of their marriage she was richly rewarded with property and high status at court. 

She’s probably most famous for having been so plain-looking that Henry couldn’t consummate the marriage, but the musical puts another slant on that. 

According to one history of England, “the King found her so different from her picture [by artist Hans Holbein] that he swore they had brought him a Flanders mare.”

Daniele says the musical has fun with this, showing Henry swiping images of her on his device and there’s a big number, “Haus of Holbein”. That’s another area which is very up-to-date, as it tackles questions of body image.

Talking of which, in one song there’s even a reference to something very rarely discussed at court, the King’s small male member. 

“Anne of Cleves found herself in a tricky situation at court and handled it very cleverly,” she says, “so my big number, ‘Get Down’, is a celebration of how it all worked out so well for me. I’m happy with who I am.”

“Six The Musical,” Canberra Theatre, April 23 to May 15. Book at canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 6275 2700.