Secret Cinema: Grease the immersive movie musical

I have to confess I had never been to a secret cinema event before and didn’t really know what to expect,  from the outset ‘Grease’ did not disappoint, as we were ushered through the ticket barriers we found ourselves in a fabulous 1950’s fairground complete with Ferris wheel, hotdog cart and merch stall selling ‘Pink lady’ jackets!

We had a wander, and took the opportunity to invest our complimentary drinks tokens in some perfectly decent margaritas before making our way through to the main venue where set designer Tom Rogers and his team have excelled themselves creating flawlessly constructed scenes from the film such as the drive in, diner, garage etc. A live band belted out 50’s era tunes at one end, and in the centre stood a boxing ring style stage surrounded by screens showing the film, performers then popped up at key points to bring the scenes to life.

I have to say I thought the cast were excellent, their energy and enthusiasm really shone through and the choreography provided by Jennifer Weber was superb, my favourite number was greased lightening. (No spoilers but the way they brought the car on stage was very clever.)

For me this wasn’t an issue, I felt more like I’d wandered into Las Vegas and found myself at a ‘Grease’ themed Cabaret show, as previously mentioned the performers did an outstanding job and there was certainly enough to keep us entertained.

My gripe was more the ever present sales angle that was noticeable almost from the get-go: For example with a general admission ticket (£49) you are given one fairground token which isn’t enough for any of the rides so in order to use it you have to buy more.

Most of the seating is reserved for VIP’s or attached to a food/drink stalls, the event is 2.5 hours long which is quite a long time to be wandering round so of course you’re going to end up buying £13 hotdogs and a couple more rounds of drinks by which time the striped-shirted sales staff with their trays of £6 jello shots and Rydell high merchandise suddenly seem much more appealing!

But don’t let that put you off overall ‘Grease: The immersive movie musical’ is slick well oiled machine and a fun night out. Great for an office party/Hen do/Anyone who has ever fancied owning a pink lady jacket/Knows all the words to ‘look at me I’m Sandra Dee.’

Tickets on sale now at https://greasetheimmersivemoviemusical.com/