Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical – a 'gloriously communal' experience

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."

Battersea Park, London SW11. Until 7 Sept