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If you're a fan of the 1977 movie "Grease" (and who isn't?) and a lover of adventurous theatre, "you'll be hopelessly devoted" to the latest extravaganza from Secret Cinema, said Nick Curtis in London's The Standard.
For its adaptation, the immersive cinema/theatre company has transformed a huge shed in Battersea Park into Grease's Rydell High School. Inside, a central stage is ringed by ten vast video screens, and platforms where set pieces are recreated by the cast and crew: an auto shop for "Greased Lightnin'", a salon for "Beauty School Dropout", and so on.
Outside, there's a recreation of the funfair where Danny and Sandy finally get together, complete with food and drinks stalls. "The atmosphere is part festival, part hen-do", and the whole thing is a "masterpiece of coordination" by director Matt Costain. I had thought that there was no way this very familiar musical "could re-engage or surprise me. But it seems 'Grease' is the word. Again."
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Secret Cinema events typically involve the audience roaming freely through an immersive experience, followed by a film screening, said Anna James on What's On Stage. Here, the film happens throughout the night, with pauses and cuts, and runs concurrently with live action – making the event an "elaborate" hybrid that works beautifully, not least because it is so confidently delivered by the "phenomenal" cast.
All the songs are performed live with a band, and feature stunning choreography. The set-up is more "static" than usual, said Tom Wicker in The Stage – there are fewer chances to wander round and get lost than in previous such events. And having the live cast play certain scenes alongside the film feels a bit "disjointed" at times. But when it comes to the big numbers, "the wow factor is there".
The dance-off in the gym builds "masterfully to a breathless crescendo"; "Greased Lightnin'" is indeed electrifying; and we truly do "go together" for the reprise of "You're the One That I Want": it becomes a "gloriously communal" experience as it opens up into the exterior fairground. "The buzz of that number alone will make you relish the last of these summer nights."
