Fantastically Great Women: Superheroes, hormones and pop royalty

The musical, like the book series, is aimed at younger audiences.

Performing for a younger audience shouldn’t prove too challenging for Lamola.

“It’s easy for me because I do voiceovers for Hey Duggee (the CBeebies show). And having done panto in the past, you learn how to engage with kids.”

Hateley is also looking forward to connecting with young theatre goers.

“I love the idea of possibly being somebody’s first experience of theatre. And that can involve children but not in…. a patronising manner. They’re actually just getting all the information, a bit like how I grew up with Horrible Histories. It feels like a similar sort of tone.”

Pankhurst says it’s been a thrill to see her books come to life on stage.

“Every time I’ve been to see it I feel I’m sitting a bit taller in my chair, I can go out and take on the world and be a stronger powerful woman. And to think a younger audience are seeing that as well is really special.”

The show first debuted as a touring production in 2021 and was well received.

The Guardian’s Arifa Akbar, external described it as “a high voltage show with great charisma”.

She added: “Ordinarily, a production built on a simplistic ‘smash the patriarchy’ brand of empowerment would leave me cold but this is not that. It is certainly feel-good but surprisingly nuanced.”

Alice Saville, writing in The London Evening Standard, external, gave the show four stars.

“The dream team behind the show have managed to turn the commercialised business of heroine-worship into something that’s both nuanced and unapologetically joyful.

“It has all the energy of a girl band concert, mixed with just enough history to tempt young people to read up on its stars, once its final notes fade away.”