What is it like inside the updated 'ABBA Voyage' experience?

Three years after the show stormed London, with a new venue and groundbreaking technology, is ABBA Voyage still worth seeing? Absolutely.

Three years after opening, ABBA’s trailblazing concert experience is showing no signs of slowing down, and has just added a handful of additional hits to the setlist to give previous attendees such as myself a good reason (or perhaps excuse is a better word) to go back.

For the uninitiated — and there can't be many these days — ABBA Voyage features digitally rendered versions of ABBA's four original members, which look as lifelike as if you were stepping back in time in your platform heels and rocking out at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest (footage of which is projected during “Waterloo”). The choreography, from Wayne McGregor, was performed by the band and motion-captured, giving it a believability that feels almost incredulous.

Staged in a custom-built 3,000 capacity arena in East London — if in doubt how to find it, just follow the trail of glitter — the experience is akin to being encased in an ABBA cocoon for 100 minutes (extended from the original 90) of pure pop ecstasy. A large part of the fun is seeing fellow audience members bedecked in glittery jump suits, flared trousers and sparkly accessories, creating undeniable ‘good night out’ vibes before a note has even been played.

When the music does begin, it’s not with the blast of feel-good Scandi pop you might expect, but the ethereal “Skallgång” from Benny Andersson’s folk album November 1989. Accompanied by wintry projections evoking the stage adaptation of Let the Right One In, it’s an altogether subdued start to proceedings. But the minute the ‘Abbatars’ slowly rise from the stage and the impressive sound system pulses with the opening bars of 1981’s “The Visitors”, the adrenaline levels quickly crank up.

I remember when I first saw the show’s digital stars wishing that I was closer to the stage to see how realistic they look up close. And seeing it a second time, despite being a few rows nearer to the action, I still ached to be able to walk right up there and see how the illusion is done. Because from a distance, you really can believe you’re watching real people.

The enormous screens behind the stage that extend across the entire width of the auditorium provide close ups throughout. You’d find these at any regular concert, of course, but here, because the performers are virtual, Agnetha, Frida, Benny and Bjorn are reminiscent of characters in a video game. Some songs, such as “Eagle” and “Voulez-Vous”, have no Abbatars at all but are accompanied by Studio Ghibli-esque animations, directed by Shynola, about a boy’s intergalactic quest to encounter his ABBA heroes (I think).

Between songs, the band members regale us with stories from the old times (ranging from a light-hearted revelation of possible infidelity from Benny, to a moving tribute to her grandmother from Frida) and, at the curtain call, appear as avatars of their current selves to bid us an emotional farewell. There’s also a nice nod to the location when Bjorn riffs the EastEnders theme tune on the piano, as a lead in to “SOS”. The sense of liveness is further augmented by the fact the excellent 10-strong ‘Hero Band’ play throughout, and three backing singers – Kara-Ami McCreanor, Cleopatra Rey and Carlene Graham – take centre stage at various points.

The four new songs in the lineup – “The Name of the Game”, “Money, Money, Money”, “Super Trouper” and “Take a Chance On Me” (“When All Is Said And Done” has been excised) – are all welcome additions that ensure the hits keep coming, providing a reminder of the sheer breadth of the catalogue (if there’s still one glaring omission, in my opinion it’s “Slipping Through My Fingers”). And despite the longer running time it still flies by; the energy emanating from the dance floor would no doubt be enough to power the Abbatars for even longer if required.

As a sheer spectacle, it’s undeniably jaw-dropping. The incredible LED lighting effects (the show is directed by Baillie Walsh, and the technical team headed up by Fredrik Stormby) feel genuinely groundbreaking, filling the arena with bars of colour, illuminated discs and dramatic shafts of laser-like spotlight. The penultimate number “Dancing Queen”, which precedes “The Winner Takes It All” (it’s still rather mystifying why they don’t close with “Thank You For the Music”), is predictably the stand out, finding just the right blend of lighting, holographic, and projected effects to create an almost hallucinatory crescendo.

Walking out, I was once again struck by the paradox at play here. For a show that leans so heavily on digital technology, it’s perhaps surprising to say that it simply has to be experienced live. Perhaps because the throbbing sound system (the levels are perfectly judged) creates such a feeling of womb-like immersion. But more likely it’s because that aforementioned energy of the crowd is in fact its one irreplaceable ingredient. For some, it may require a leap of imagination too far, but if you’re happy to take it you’ll find yourself amply rewarded.

Book ABBA Voyage tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: ABBA Voyage. (All photos by Johan Persson)