A stage adaptation of Rock Follies is coming this summer
Set long before the Spice Girls, Sugababes and The Saturdays…
Last updated 16th Feb 2023
A new stage musical adaptation of the ITV series Rock Follies is heading to Chichester's Minerva Theatre this summer.
Based on the musical TV series of the same name which ran in the 1970s the musical tells the story of the fictional band, the 'Little Ladies' as they take on the male-dominated, dog-eat-dog world of rock music.
Rock Follies will run from 24th July to 26th August 2023 and has a book by Chloë Moss and will feature original songs from the TV series by Howard Schuman and Andy Mackay.
The cast will feature Carly Bawden (Carousel, wonder.land) as Anna, Zizi Strallen (Mary Poppins, Follies) as Q, along with Samuel Barnett (The History Boys), Tamsin Carroll (Everybody's Talking About Jamie) and Fred Haig (Tammy Faye).
Former Artistic Director of the Royal Court, Dominic Cooke directs the production, with the creative team also including set design by Vicki Mortimer, costume design by Kinnetia Isidore, choreography by Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, musical supervision and arrangements by Nigel Lilley, musical direction by Toby Higgins, lighting design by Paule Constable, and casting by Pippa Ailion CDG and Natalie Gallacher CDG.
Take a look at what's on at the Chichester Festival Theatre this year
The Vortex
Directed by Daniel Ragget and set design by Joanna Scotcher The Vortex will be showing from the 28th of April till the 20th of May.
The roaring twenties. A world in flux. The magnetic Florence Lancaster draws people to her like moths to a flame. But when her son Nicky arrives home from Paris with an unexpected fiancée and a secret, it sets off a chain of events which threatens to pull them all into a maelstrom.
4000 Miles
Amy Herzog's award-winning drama staring Eileen Atkins and Sebastian Croft will be showing 4th of May till the 10th of June.
Late one night, 21-year-old Leo arrives without warning at his grandmother's Manhattan apartment – the furthest point on a momentous bike ride across America. Vera is 91 and lives alone. Her independence is undimmed by the challenges of modern living. Baffled by each other at first, this odd couple slowly edge across the distance between them.
Assassins
Stephen Sondheim's murderous musical featuring Amy Booth-Steel, directed by Polly Findlay will be showing between 3rd of June till the 24th.
A surreal carnival. And a group of people who have one thing in common: they want to assassinate the President of the United States. Some succeed, some fail. But there's a prize for them all: a place in the history books.
Mom, How Did You Meet The Beatles?
Arienne Kennedy's autobiographical play told in the form of a one-act, monologue directed by Diana Zora will be showing on the 16th June till 8th July.
Playwright Adrienne Kennedy impulsively leaves New York for London with her young son, intent on adapting John Lennon's book In His Own Write for the stage.
The Sound of Music
The Rodgers & Hammerstein hit musical is back and will be featuring Gina Beck, directed by Adam Penford and will be showing between the 10th of July till the 3rd of September.
Austria, 1938. Free-spirited nun Maria is sent away from her abbey to become governess to the widowed Captain von Trapp's seven children. She brings music and laughter back to his unfeeling household, but the future holds more joy and jeopardy than she ever dreamed possible.
Rock Follies
With a book by Chloë Moss and a hit TV show by Andy Mackay Rock Follies will be having its world premiere on the 24 July until the 26th August.
It's the 1970s and feminism is on the rise. Fed up with the male- dominated entertainment industry, Anna, Dee and Q take the future into their own hands and form a rock band – the ironically named 'Little Ladies'. And so begins the musical helter-skelter ride of a lifetime. Can principles and ambition co-exist? And can their friendship survive in the dog-eat-dog world of rock?
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A William Shakespeare classic reimagined by the Chichester Festival Youth Theatre directed by Jon Pashley will be showing on the 4th of August till the 19th of August.
Faced with unwanted marriages and parents who don't listen, four teenage lovers flee the city. But in the forest things are no better: the Fairy King and Queen are at war and a bunch of wannabe actors struggle to get their show off the ground.
Never Have I Ever
An Explosive first play by Deborah Frances-White, directed by Emma Butler including Alexandra Roach and Greg Wise will be showing from the 1st of September till the 30th.
Jacq and Kas's boutique restaurant has gone bust, and telling their oldest friends Adaego and her rich husband Tobin that his investment is toast is only the start of the evening. Cash, class, identity and infidelity are all on the menu. As the last of the expensive wine flows, a dangerous drinking game reveals long-hidden truths and provokes an unspeakable dare.
Quiz
Based on the true story of Charle Ingram directed by Daniel Evans and Seán Linnen staring Rory Bremner, Quiz will be showing from the 22nd of September till the 30th.
A provocative re-examination of the conviction of Charles Ingram, 'the Coughing Major', his wife Diana and accomplices, for duping the world's most popular TV quiz show, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, out of £1,000,000
A View from the Bridge
Arthur Miller's compelling drama, directed by Jay Woodcock-Stewart will be showing from the 6th of October till the 28th.
On the Brooklyn waterfront, where the fierce passions of ancestral Sicily linger, the orphaned Catherine falls for her handsome, newly arrived cousin Rodolfo – an illegal immigrant. Their romance is encouraged by her aunt Beatrice but viewed with revulsion by
her uncle, Eddie Carbone, who harbours an unspoken desire. As tensions rise, their story spins inexorably beyond control.
The Inquiry
Directed by Joanna Bowman with its world premier on the 13th of October till the 4th November.
MP Arthur Gill is one of Westminster's rising stars. Still in his 30s, he's just become the Secretary of State for Justice, assuming the role of Lord Chancellor too; and with a leadership race on the horizon, he's a favourite to be the next Prime Minister.
The Jungle Book
The new stage adaptation by Sonali Bhattacharyya, written specially for Chichester Festival Youth Theatre will be showing on the 16th of December till the 31st.
Once upon a time a little boy finds himself lost in the jungle, in hiding from the fearsome tiger Shere Khan. He finds shelter with a wolf pack who name him "Mowgli the Frog" and raise him like one of their own cubs.
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