Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical

On Tuesday 5th August, Theatre South East was invited to attend Secret Cinema’s GREASE: The Immersive Movie Musical. From the entrance to the stage, Secret Cinema completely transforms your surroundings, and places you right at Rydell High, rubbing shoulders with Danny, Sandy, the T-Birds and Pink Ladies. You completely forget you’re bang smack in the middle of Battersea Park!

The cast was grease-slick and lightning quick to impress the audience. Stephanie Costi as Sandy, and Liam Morris could not have been cast better, not only for their polished performances but their obvious enjoyment within the roles. Lucy Penrose as Rizzo was absolutely knock-out, and commanded the stage. I was personally delighted to read Lucy is the co-founder of The Room Where It Happens, a Soho musicals-focussed bar I know well; fingers crossed she’ll be bringing ‘There Are Worse Things I Could Do’ there soon.

My personal highlight of the cast was Imogen Kingsley-Smith as Patty Simcox, an overshadowed girl in the original plot, but a blinding ray of sunshine on-stage. I’ve never seen a wider smile and more enthusiastic character work. Across the board, the casting director and creative team nailed it – delivering uncanny doubles of the film’s beloved characters, each with the vocal power to breathe new life into the classic songs.

I know the venue Evolution well, yet its transformation into Rydell High is nothing short of breathtaking. From school banners draped across the entrance to the lively fairground attractions outside, and from the sweeping indoor sets to the trophy-lined hallways, every corner revealed a fresh visual delight. The craftsmanship in the set design is undeniable, and the meticulous attention to detail throughout the entire creative vision stands as a loving tribute to the timeless film.

My only critique is an easily fixable one concerning the lighting and audio. Indoors, the setting is wonderfully immersive with featurettes appearing all around, but with the floor space packed, it was often hard to pinpoint where the main action was taking place. While the height of the sets cannot be changed and audience capacity is unlikely to decrease, a more strategic use of lighting and audio could solve the issue. Stronger spotlighting to follow moving performers or to highlight a particular stage would help the audience feel more oriented.

Similarly, the audio inside and outside the venue was too quiet during the performance, which muted the impact of the cast’s fantastic vocals and left songs sounding muffled. The movie segments between performances were almost inaudible. Given that this is a movie musical, a more powerful and dynamic sound. design could elevate the experience significantly. An intermediary solution could be subtitles on the cinema screens, which – let’s face it – is a tick in the box for the TikTok generation, and a win for wider accessibility as well.

Another flag would be that if audience members haven’t attended a Secret Cinema show before, they might be expecting less film clips and more stage performances, as this is how Grease has been positioned on TfL advertising, and in teaser clips. One man next to me was particularly disgruntled on this score, “why are we even watching a film, when there’s a west end cast?”. Perhaps the context and history of Secret Cinema could be a 30 second introduction, or more clarified on the website.

Altogether, it was a hand-jive of an evening, bursting with a cast that could charm the socks off any audience, choreography that moved as slickly as a T-Bird in a convertible, and creative ideas bold enough to make even the Pink Ladies blush. The entire team has revved their engines and delivered a production that roars with energy, heart, and polish. GREASE: The Immersive Movie Musical doesn’t just tip its hat to the film – it drag-races into new territory, setting the bar for future immersive shows. If this is the start of a new era for theatrical experiences, then consider me ready to grab my leather jacket, and jump head-first into the next world Secret Cinema dreams up.

Reviewer: Charlie O’Neill

Cast

Sandy – Stephanie Costi
Danny – Liam Morris
Kenickie – Liam Buckland
Rizzo – Lucy Penrose
Frenchie – Gerardine Sacdalan
Teen Angel/Choir Master – David Fearn
Jan – Brooke Ramsay
Putsie – Andilé Mabhena
Doody – Darragh Rochford
Sonny – Myles Thomas
Marty – Toni Paise
Patty – Imogen Kingsley-Smith
Eugene – Jacob Stebbings

Venue

Evolution London, Chelsea Bridge Gate, Battersea Park, Queenstown Road, London, SW11 4NJ. https://greasetheimmersivemoviemusical.com/getting-here/
The closest Underground Stations are Battersea Park, Sloane Square and Victoria

Dress Code

You are encouraged to dress up!
Inspiration can be found here https://greasetheimmersivemoviemusical.com/rydell-high-noticeboard

Are you in the next Class of Rydell High?

Tickets

Please see the website for full details of each package.

General Admission (Free-Roam) From £49
VIP Seated (Roam & Return) From £59
Premium Immersive (Join the Cast) From £79

Theatre South East

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