Spice Girls on stage: Viva Forever! the musical - in pictures

When 5 become 1 ... Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton and Victoria Beckham pose at the press launch of Viva Forever during the summer Photograph: Dave M. Benett/Getty Images

A jukebox musical drawn from the Spice Girls' back catalogue, Viva Forever!'s no doubt nail-biting plot concerns Viva (Hannah John-Kamen), a singer who auditions for a TV talent show alongside fellow band members Diamond (Lucy Phelps), Holly (Dominique Provost-Chalkley) and Luce (Siobhan Athwal) Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

Who Do You Think You Are? Tamara Wall (Karen), Sally Dexter (Simone) and Bill Ward (Jonny) strut their stuff in front of the cameras Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

'When my girls were little teenagers, 8- to 12-year-olds, the Spice Girls gave them such a lot of fun and that is the sort of thing you don't get with a lot of girl groups nowadays – that idea of anarchic fun,' Saunders told the Guardian at the show's press launch Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

Miss Saigon had a helicopter, Phantom of the Opera had a boat floating on dry ice ... Viva Forever! moves West End transport on to a whole new level with what appears to be a houseboat Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

The cast attempt a tricky jazzhands-on-top-of-houseboat manoeuvre, thought to be a first in UK theatre. (We're not going to make jokes about going down all hands on deck) Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

(How Does It Feel to Be) On Top of the World? Lucy Montgomery (Suzi) and Sally Ann Triplett (Lauren) get stuck in to a Spice Girls number Photograph: Tristram Kenton for the Guardian

Spice Up Your Life ... The cast of Viva Forever! let rip during an athletic dance number, set – so it appears, from the bull looming malevolently on the horizon – in Spain Photograph: Borkowski

The show's uplifting website suggests that it's 'a wonderfully joyous contemporary musical about the value of friendship in the face of fame and fortune!' The exclamation mark, alas, is authentic Photograph: Borkowski