A reviews round-up for Secret Cinema’s major new Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical experience in Battersea Park in London.
Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical is now playing at Evolution London in Battersea Park until 7 September 2025.
Read reviews from the Guardian, Evening Standard and more, with further reviews to be added.
Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical sees Secret Cinema create their first full show experience, bringing the musical Grease to life over two-and-a-half-hours with a cast of 30 actors, singers and dancers, performing songs from the show on multi-screen platforms.
Every part of the vast Evolution venue has been transformed into an immersive cinematic and theatrical experience, with locations from the movie recreated including Frosty’s Palace, The Beauty School, The Carnival, The Gym, The Autoshop and La Cafury Beauty School.
The cast performing live include Stephanie Costi (Mamma Mia! I Have A Dream) as Sandy and Lucy Penrose (Judy!, Top Hat) as Rizzo, with Liam Morris (& Juliet) as Danny and Liam Buckland (Mean Girls, Beauty and the Beast) as Kenickie.
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The show also stars Toni Pais as Marty, Brooke Ramsay as Jan and Gerardine Sacdalan as Frenchie; and Andilé Mabhena as Putsie, Darragh Rochford as Doody and Myles Thomas as Sonny; alongside Imogen Kingsley-Smith as Patty Simcox, Jacob Stebbings as Eugene Felsnic, Colleen Daley as Principal McGee, Julie Cloke as Blanche, Rhys Owen as Coach Calhoun, David Fearn as Teen Angel/Choir Master, and Waylon Jacobs as Vince Fontaine.
The Ensemble cast includes Morgan Baulch, Dylan Blake-Colbet, Ziki Buswell, Erin Corfield, Leah Dane, Bella Donald, CJ Driver, David Heal, Reece Kerridge, Sunny Lee, Kelly Mbarga, Rose Mary O’Reilly, and Aaron Shales.
The entire Grease film is brought to life all around the audience on multiple screens, allowing audiences to step into the world of Rydell High, with live music, themed food and drink, and a summer fairground. Fully-staged productions of all the songs include ‘You’re The One That I Want’, ‘Beauty School Dropout’, ‘Greased Lightnin’, ‘Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee’, ‘Summer Nights’, and ‘We Go Together’.
The experience is directed by Olivier Award-winning actor, aerialist and creative director Matt Costain, whose previous productions for Secret Cinema include Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Dirty Dancing.
A West End team of creatives also includes set design by Tom Rogers, choreography by Jennifer Weber, lighting design by Howard Hudson, sound design by Olivier Award-winner Gareth Fry, video design by Ian William Galloway, casting by Grace McInerny for Pippa Ailion and Natalie Gallacher Casting, music supervisor Steve Sidwell, costume design by Susan Kulkarni and Martina Trottman, and Wigs, hair and make-up design by Farida Ghwedar and Jessie Deol.
Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical is running at Evolution London until 7 September 2025.
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What are the critics saying about Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical?
The Evening Standard
★★★★
“A spectacularly ambitious show”
“Secret Cinema take on the legendary Grease for an ambitious audience participation show which – if you like this kind of thing – will be the one that you want”
“If you’re a fan of Grease (who isn’t?) and also of participatory happenings (some aren’t) there’s a fair chance you’ll be hopelessly devoted to this spectacularly ambitious show from Secret Cinema.”
“Whatever your reservations about so-called immersive theatre – mine are the way it weaponises FOMO and gives audiences the false illusion of agency – this is a masterpiece of co-ordination by director Matt Costain and choreographer Jennifer Webber.”
“Morris is a lean and wolfish Danny with a quiff like a heron’s beak, Costi a pert and bouncy Sandy.”
“I thought there was no way this story could re-engage or surprise me. But it seems Grease is the word. Again.”
Nick Curtis, The Evening Standard
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What’s On Stage
★★★★
“… the show is a hybrid of the film and the stage musical and it works beautifully. Instead of Secret Cinema’s traditional free roam followed by a screening, the film happens throughout the night, with a few pauses and cuts. Crucially, all the songs are performed live with a band, which adds hugely to the atmosphere.”
“The cast, primarily musical theatre actors, are phenomenal. Liam Morris brilliantly captures John Travolta’s louche goofiness and Lucy Penrose is superb as spiky, sarcastic Rizzo, but there are simply no weak links in this very talented cast.”
“The moments between numbers do lull at times, although they provide an opportunity to get food and drink without missing much, and there are plenty of walkabouts from the cast and opportunities to join in with set pieces”
“Secret Cinema is openly trying something different, and while there are certainly ways to fine-tune the rhythms of this new format, on most levels it really works.”
“This production of Grease feels in many ways like an elaborate immersive West End musical, a format with broad appeal and it’s impossible to ignore how clearly audiences are having a great time.”
Anna James, What’s On Stage
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The Guardian
★★★
“Party like it’s 1959”
“A strong cast sings live versions of all the hits against screens showing the film, backed by a terrific band and willing extras recruited from the audience”
“Grease isn’t the first musical to be given Secret Cinema’s signature immersive treatment – there was a Moulin Rouge in 2017 – but it is the most ambitious”
“It takes a chaotic quarter-hour to get your head around what you’re watching. The actors aren’t lip-syncing their lines, so if you’re following the screen it looks like clunky dubbing.”
“… this is, ultimately, a full-costume karaoke night, the chance for folk to belt out Hopelessly Devoted to You and Greased Lightnin’ without any fear of being removed by an usher.”
“As for the 30-strong cast, none of them would shame the West End. Stephanie Costi is a sweetly voiced Sandy, while Lucy Penrose reconfirms that Rizzo is easily the show’s most compelling character.”
“And that, after all, is what people have come for: to party like it’s 1959. So what if the movie’s climax is better on screen than it is in the room?”
Emma John, The Guardian
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The Stage
★★★
“Electrifies scenes we think we already know”
“Secret Cinema’s spectacular immersive take on Grease is less adventurous than past outings but will still have you singing along like a student at Rydell High School”
“From Summer Nights to Greased Lightnin’, the songs themselves are ripe for riffing on as set pieces.”
“The staging is full of nice touches, including the authentic 1950s ads and clips that video designer Ian William Galloway cuts between scenes. Everything looks lushly expensive and there is the usual impressive attention to detail in the smallest of props.”
“… it’s also a markedly static experience in an open-plan setting. You’re mostly fixed in place for the film’s duration. There are fewer opportunities to wander around and get lost in the detail that mark out the best Secret Cinema experiences.”
“… the production’s decision to lip sync the mic-ed-up voices of the main actors playing the likes of Danny, Sandy, Rizzo and Kenickie to the film itself is also a little hit-and-miss. But when it comes to the iconic numbers, the wow factor is there. It’s great to hear Lucy Penrose’s powerhouse There Are Worse Things I Could Do as Rizzo.”
“Costain’s production succeeds when it embraces the potential of Secret Cinema’s new Battersea Park setting – particularly at the climax of the film.”
Tom Wicker, The Stage
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Average Rating: 3.5 Stars based on 4 reviews
CriticScore: 70 based on 4 reviews
Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical
Evolution, London
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📷 Main photo: Grease The Immersive Movie Musical. Photo by Matt Crockett
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