Divorced, beheaded, died. Divorced, beheaded, survived.
The mnemonic encapsulating the fates of the wives of King Henry VIII is memorable if not altogether accurate and a little dismissive.
Coming to Canberra next year is Six, a musical that brings those six women into the foreground.
Co-producer Louise Withers said: "The show itself is a high-energy pop concert-style musical."
The six wives, she said, were reimagined as members of a band, each of whom wanted to be the lead singer.
"The only way to work out who the lead singer will be is to work out, 'Who had the worst time with Henry'," she said.
Each of the wives, she said, told their story through song in the style of a major pop star - Adele, Beyonce, Ariana Grande, Alicia Keys and others - in an effort to show they should be the one.
But in the end, true empowerment might come from cooperation not competition - especially not defining themselves through their relationship with a man, even a king.
Six, by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017 and has gone on to international success, including West End and Broadway productions.
Its cast recording has been streamed 450 million times across the globe and it's had three billion views on TikTok.
Withers, who was also behind the sellout production of Mamma Mia! at the Canberra Theatre Centre, said Six was clever, funny andappealed to all ages.
Six's Australian premiere season in Sydney will resume after being disrupted by COVID and the show will then come to Canberra as part of a 14-month tour.
"Canberra will get to see it before Melbourne or anyone else," she said.
- Six, from April 23, 2022 at Canberra Theatre. canberratheatrecentre.com.au.
