Book, Music and Lyrics: Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey
Director: Matt Costain
It’s rare to experience a bold, fresh take on one of the all-time classics of musical theatre, but Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical, back again for the summer, does exactly that. This high-energy, endlessly interesting production takes audiences back to Rydell High School and makes it feel like the first day of term at a brand new school. And it’s a school you’re going to love.
Aspects of the classic story of Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson are dated for a contemporary audience, whether it’s Sandy’s transformation from innocent girl to black-clothed vamp by the finale, or the show’s attitudes to gender, but none of that spoils this fresh new approach.
The experience begins before you’ve even arrived, with flags for Rydell High School, a huge Americana school sign, and people dressed for the first day back at school. It takes place at Evolution London, in the middle of Battersea Park, and it helps that it’s currently the height of summer, so audiences step into the world of Summer Nights on a hot night, albeit in South London.
Inside the enclosure sits the fairground from the closing scene of the film, the You’re the One That I Want sequence, complete with Shake Shack, Funhouse, Chair-O-Plane and sideshow stalls. Some theatregoers arrive in Pink Ladies and T-Birds jackets, big smiles, and greased-back hair. The theatrical space beyond is something between a concert, a sports event and a play space for the imagination, with a bandstand, an elevated dance floor, themed seating including Frosty’s Palace and drive-in movie seats, and plenty of room to walk and dance.
It can take some focus as an audience member to let go of preconceptions about what this actually is. Big screens show the original film with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, while separate performance spaces host the “Greased Lightning” car workshop, Rizzo’s bedroom for Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee, the bandstand, and the dance floor doubling as the high school gym. Director Matt Costain achieves real theatrical impact through his choices of which scenes to bring to life and which to leave on the screen; the Travolta-Newton-John footage will pause, and the youthful live cast take over.
The ensemble boasts top-notch musical theatre voices, with lovely performances from Stephanie Costi as Sandy, Georgios Michalidis as Danny, and the hard-working David Fern as Johnny Casino. Where Casino has only a small part in the original, Fern works tirelessly fronting the band for much of the evening, his effortless high range boosting the atmosphere throughout. There are fun surprises in the staging of Stranded at the Drive-In and Greased Lightning, though really the whole thing is a surprise.
One aspect that never quite sits comfortably is the lip-syncing: songs are synced to the film, so Travolta and Newton-John deliver dialogue before switching to Costi and Michalidis, singing live, for the musical numbers. The latter have beautiful voices, and it retains a live theatre feel, but it is an impossible standard to hold live performers to when they’re effectively lip-syncing against film icons. Removing the movie leads from the screen during musical numbers might sharpen the effect, though it may not trouble most audiences.
Much like the choose-your-own-adventure books popular in children’s fiction decades ago, Grease Immersive is a choose-your-own-adventure theatrical experience: watch the screens, follow the live action, sit and blend both, join the dance floor, hang around the concession stands, or find a drive-in backseat and make your own adventure. This lineage traces back to 1970s New York, when The Rocky Horror Show audiences first came in costume and later took to participating with the film. This version of Grease takes that idea to a new level, and does it with panache.
Secret Cinema pays attention to every detail, from 1959-dated signage to an honours board and American-accented stallholders, and the result is fun for Grease aficionados and newcomers alike. Above all, Grease Immersive is a great way to spend a summer night in Battersea, and a night at the theatre well worth having.
Runs until 13 September 2026
