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It’s not often that a member of the audience gets a huge round of applause – but superstar Rula Lenska was deservedly cheered after the artistic director of Chichester’s Minerva Theatre Justin Audibert name checked her at the end of the first night of Rock Follies.

Rock Follies was a ground-breaking TV series in the 1970s – a musical drama that revealed the highs and lows of girl band Little Ladies as they struggled to find both fame and a better understanding of themselves. The star cast of Charlotte Cornwell and Julie Covington was headed by the extraordinary Ms Lenska as Q.

So how wonderful to have the show live again in this remarkable stage musical with creators and the original Q in the audience to witness the rebirth.

This time round, the three Little Ladies are Carly Bawden, Angela Marie Hurst and Zizi Strallen as Q. Their sublime singing voices powered through the catalogue of musical numbers while at the same time the glimpses of their personal ambitions and agonies were laid bare.

Zizi Strallen, Angela Marie Hurst, Carly Bawden in CFT’s Rock Follies: Photo - Johan-Persson

On one level, this is a piece of 1976 retro which Chichester audiences will love.

But it is also a complete reboot – making it equally accessible to all generations.

As in all 1970s rock stories – this one does not shy away from the themes of drugs, free love, and back-stabbing musical managers.

But at its heart, Rock Follies is all about the amazing Little Ladies, the colossal power of their music – and how they conquered their individual demons to find the real happiness they were seeking.

Rock Follies at Chichester Festival Theatre: Review - Little Ladies with huge voices recreate retro magic