Stephanie Costi and Giórgios Michaelides in Grease The Immersive Musical at Evolution London, Battersea Park. Picture: Matt Crockett
Grease The Immersive Movie Musical continues at Evolution London, Battersea Park until 13 September 2026.
Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩
Grease is definitely one of the most iconic musicals, a catchy, feel good soundtrack, iconic characters and a candy coated vision of American high school life in the 1950s. A guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
What’s not to love? You navigate the ‘will they, won’t they?’ romance between Sandy and Danny, and Rizzo’s ‘is she, isn’t she?’ pregnancy scare. It resonates with the audience, and then gifts them the big feelgood ending that everyone is hoping for.
The Secret Cinema team obviously realises the pulling power of the Grease franchise as the company has stage the show/movie before, with the most recent run at the same location in 2025. While this production offers moments of sheer brilliance, there are times it just feels a little lacklustre.
The scene setting and staging of the event are done very well as longstanding Secret Cinema fans would expect (design by Tim Rogers). As you arrive at the venue, you are immediately immersed in the world of Rydell High School, complete with outdoor fairground rides and attractions. Audience members are encouraged to ‘dress up’, to embrace the spirit of the era, creating a wonderfully playful atmosphere before the movie and performance begin.
As the bell rings you are ushered into the main school hall. There is a genuine sense of excitement and anticipation as you file past all the familiar locations from the movie, the Frosty Palace, and the drive-in has allocated ‘roam and return’, but there is a sense that wandering too far would mean missing some of the action.
Enormous credit to the cast. Performances are consistently strong throughout, with excellent vocals, boundless levels of energy and choreography (Jennifer Weber) that captures the sheer joy and sparkle of the movie.
The ensemble members worked their bobby socks off, on an incredibly warm evening. Danny (Giórgios Michaelides) and Sandy (Stephanie Costi) bring charm and charisma to their much-loved characters. They are ably supported by the T-Birds and Pink Ladies. Rizzo (Lucy Penrose) delivers vulnerability, defiance and a seasoning of sass to her character. Joshua C Jackson also deserves special mention for his portrayal of Vince Fontaine.
It will come as no surprise that the biggest musical numbers prove to be the evening’s highlights. The dance competition is executed with precision and infectious enthusiasm, while ‘Greased Lightnin’’ is a showstopper that has a car descending from the ceiling, mechanics in silver boiler suits, and virtually every audience member joining in with the singing and dance routine from start to finish.
However, despite the undeniable talent of the performers, there are times that the energy plummets. This is potentially due to the transitions between the live action and projected film sequences/general 1950s images. Each pause allows the energy generated by the cast to dissipate before the next scene begins, resulting in moments that become genuine atmosphere killers.
Looking around the auditorium, it was easy to pick up on different reactions. For die-hard Grease enthusiasts, this format is likely to be a dream come true – 1950s cosplay at its best. If you know every lyric and every scene you can happily totally immerse yourself in the nostalgia.
However, many audience members appeared less convinced. During several of the extended film sequences there appeared to be a degree of confusion, with people unsure whether to watch the screens or continue to scan the room, worried that they might miss something. Or a scene starts (annoyingly) that is just out of your range of vision or obscured by audience members who have been invited on to the stage. Dare I say it, there are even times when sections of the audience look a little bored while waiting for the action to kickstart again.
Blending live performance with the original film projected across multiple large screens in the audience’s sightlines is probably the only way to ensure that everyone can see the images, but in practice it sometimes feels a little chaotic.
The audience is ushered out of the building to the fairground for the final number, ‘You’re the One That I Want’.
Disappointingly, you are not allowed to return to the auditorium or any of the locations inside, i.e. the beauty parlour, the Frosty Palace and the drive-in. When the performance was finished for the evening, many were left wondering what to do next.
Matt Costain’s production of Grease is a mostly, visually exciting, well executed and enjoyable production, but it could have been electrifying!
Janet Morgan-Smith
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