Of the many pieces of musical theatre written recently to showcase a particular band, or musical genre, this has to have one of the most cliche-ridden and holey plots, but actually that’s part of its charm.

Because Rock of Ages isn’t afraid to send itself up, the huge power ballads like Waiting for a Girl LikeYou, I Want to Know What Love Is, Keep on Loving You, Heaven and Every Rose has its Thorn are often given very literal interpretations as they’re belted out. The script is stuffed full of humourous one-liners and contains a send-up of every ’80s cliche going.

Ben Richards, as rock star Stacee Jaxx, is tremendous, with totally believable arrogance and a very impressive physique, while Noel Sullivan plays wannabe rocker Drew with lots of touching vulnerability but not quite enough swagger for my liking.

No matter how much black eyeliner you plaster on, he’s still really a Popstar – although his voice has matured dramatically, and he can belt out The Final Countdown or the show’s finale, Don’t Stop Believin’, with the best.

Cordelia Farnworth plays heart-on-her-sleeve Sherrie with huge blonde hair and a voice to match, although my companion felt she was a bit too big and brassy.

Standout for us was Lonny, played by Stephen Rahman-Hughes, who had the audience in stitches numerous times – I hadn’t expected to find so many laugh-out-loud moments in this show, and his take on Can’t Fight This Feeling, with bar owner Dennis Dupree, is one of the funniest things I’ve seen for ages.

The band which provide the rock this show is built on are superb, especially drummer Alex Marchisone and lead guitarist Ashley Williams.

Ben Richards may strut his stuff with that axe, but this guy can do it for real. The band thoroughly deserved their own final curtain call which brought the show to a thundering close.

Rock of Ages is not meant to be taken seriously: the music is soft rock and power ballads, performed and sung extremely well and with a humourous edge which makes this a really fun summer night out. It runs at the Hippodrome until July 12.

A small warning: there is quite a lot of rock-style overtly sexual content, both in the lyrics and the dance moves, so it may not be suitable for the under-10s or grannies with sensibilities. Grannies who were rock chicks themselves will have a ball, however.