Blurring cinema and reality in 'Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical'

Secret Cinema is back with their biggest show yet — Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical. The show’s cast and creative team discuss blurring the line between screen and reality in this epic, immersive summer production.

The Pink Ladies and the T-Birds are making a bee-line for Evolution in London’s Battersea Park this summer as Secret Cinema makes its grand return with a brand-new show, Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical. Created by a West End and Broadway-calibre team, it blurs the line between screen and reality in a dynamic new way – it’s simply too cool for school.

For the first time in a Secret Cinema show, the movie is played in full on multiple giant screens while, simultaneously, the places and characters of Grease are brought to life all around the audience. The spectacular two-and-a-half-hour production features a 30-strong cast and a band. “It’s a twist on the Secret Cinema magic of yesteryear,” explains Merritt Baer, Secret Cinema producer and TodayTix Group President and Co-founder. “You’re stepping into a movie and also becoming part of a huge musical.”

Delving into the 1950s world of Grease is a dream come true for Matt Costain, the show’s Olivier Award-winning director. “I was in primary school when the film came out,” he recalls. “All of us boys crowded into the bathroom and tried styling our hair like the T-Birds, using just water and hope. We were these frothy-haired kids, thinking we were John Travolta.”

For the Secret Cinema production, Costain thought about what he’d love to do if he could enter the story. “I’d want to go to Rydell High and bump into Rizzo and the Pink Ladies in the corridor, see the Greased Lightnin’ car at the Autoshop, and sit on the bleachers in the boys’ gang or the girls’ gang and be in the midst of ‘Summer Nights’.”

Having those familiar elements as “stepping stones” is key to this flexible experience, Costain explains, because it means that audiences can wander off into other parts of the immersive world and then easily return to the story – which follows a clear arc, from the first day of term to graduation. You can “choose your own adventure”, he says, like finding a moment to grab a milkshake and a burger.

Costain notes that some coming to Secret Cinema love the full immersion, from dressing up to meeting every character, while others might want to take advantage of a fun summer event where they can dip in and out while catching up with friends. “You can join in if you want to, but it’s not scary!” he adds. “We’ll respect your choices and treat you with kindness.”

For those who want to spend extra time enjoying the real-life carnival rides, including the massive ferris wheel that plays a key role in the film, the doors open to the fair before the show itself begins. The audience can then move into Evolution’s indoor arena, and return to the fairground for the big finish: the iconic “You’re the One That I Want”.

It’s an exciting prospect for Stefanie Costi, the Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream semi-finalist who now stars as Sandy. “Everything is done to a huge scale, with us running from set to set and doing the costume changes in between,” she says. It’s a full-circle moment for Costi, whose sister played Sandy in their school production; now, she is “stepping into Sandy’s shoes”.

Audiences can choose from three ticket types: general admission, VIP seated, and VIP immersive. The seats, delightfully, are at Grease-inspired diner booths or in cars at the drive-in. The immersive tickets give people the chance to come early and learn the choreography, explains Costi, so they can take part – almost like a flashmob. “Sometimes they’ll be on stage, sometimes they’ll be helping out the actors, sometimes they’ll be a Pink Lady!” But, she adds, “the show is really inclusive, so everyone will be living in our immersive world and will have the opportunity to join in.”

Finding ways to put audiences inside the movie has been a fascinating challenge for set designer Tom Rogers, whose work includes West End musicals 9 to 5 and Pretty Woman. He was delighted to be able to re-create some of his favourite Grease locations, like “Frosty’s Palace diner, with the snowman and ice cream sundaes on the roof”, though he notes that the show also takes you to locations you’ve heard about but never actually seen, such as Frenchie’s beauty school.

“It’s like you walk off the edge of the movie screen and the world keeps going,” sums up Rogers. That was a pleasure for Costain too, getting to do fuller versions of numbers like “Summer Nights”. In the film, “it cuts between the guys and the girls. The fun challenge for us was filling in the gaps.” There are some big surprises too, teases Rogers: “I’ll just say there are a few things that appear from the sky.”

Costi is keen to take audiences on this journey along with Sandy. “She has this huge transformation and you see her confidence build throughout the show.” Costi thinks it’s “an empowering role”, and notes that Sandy sings “some absolute bangers.”

This is also a big moment for Liam Morris, whose previous work includes the UK tour of & Juliet and covering Danny in the Royal Caribbean production of Grease: now, he gets to play the leader of the T-Birds in a whole new setting. “This is new, different, and reimagined,” he enthuses. “They told me yesterday I’d be flying!”

Morris believes that behind Danny’s bravado, the character is really a softy. “He’s got a sensitive side that he doesn’t let out, and I think that’s something that I’m also dealing with and unpacking in my own life.”

Costain says that re-examining these characters and how the story’s themes resonate today is crucial. He points to timely ideas like young people “figuring out how to talk to one another and who they want to be”, and argues that while Sandy has the memorable climactic makeover, “Danny transforms too: he stops trying to impress his friends and goes after the girl he loves.” Costain understands too why Rizzo is a “perennial favourite”. He explains: “She takes a stand and is completely herself. That’s an inspiring message.”

Choreographer Jennifer Weber, a Tony Award nominee for musicals & Juliet and KPOP, comes from a hip-hop background, and she’s brought another fresh element: “sampling” Grease’s iconic dance moves, just like a DJ samples beats, in a cool contemporary way. Prepare to see those “Greased Lightnin’” arm points as never before.

“They’re the best moves to sample because the whole world knows them,” says Weber. “It means the numbers feel equally of the past and the present.” She thinks audiences will be “blown away” by the cast’s skill, adding: “These numbers explode out of the screen and literally take over the whole space.”

There are also opportunities for audiences to get stuck into the dancing: you can even enter the legendary National Bandstand hand-jive competition, and maybe see yourself up on the big screen. “Just like the characters, you dance until you feel that tap on the shoulder,” says Costain.

Weber describes Grease as “the ultimate summer high”, while Baer sums up: “If audiences come away thinking ‘That was the best night of my entire year’, we’ve done our job.” Morris adds: “The audience gets to step into this world that is happening 360 degrees around them, while their favourite characters are interacting with them.” There really is nothing like else like it. This is the one that you want.

Book Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

This article first appeared in the August 2025 issue of London Theatre Magazine.

Photo credit: Stephanie Costi and Liam Morris. (Photo by Matt Crockett)