Grease, The Immersive Movie Musical, Battersea Park, London

With its (over) familiar songs and zinging one-liners, Grease is perfect source material for this relaunch of Secret Cinema as an ‘immersive musical’ shared with thousands in a hangar-like space in Battersea Park.

It’s been converted into the American High School circa 1959 as The Pink Ladies and T Birds live out their final year of slumber parties, drive-ins, dance contests, and car races.

There’s a pre and post show chance to go on the funfair rides and the show’s final scene is played on an outdoor stage. (Image: Luke Dyson) Before the show starts there’s the chance to roam the funfair from the movie’s final scene, so you can slurp cocktails and eat hot dogs while having a spin on an old school ferris wheel, or a romp through the fun house.

Once summoned inside, the High School is a cavernous space where scenes from the film play out on multiple screens interspersed by live action popping up around the arena – accompanied by a band playing all the familiar tunes.

Depending on your ticket you might be installed in a bank of cars as if at a drive-in, or at booths in the Frosty Palace malt shop, or milling around the main raised stage.

A highlight of the show is the dance contest scene with pictured Rizzo and Frenchie at the gym. (Image: Luke Dyson) It’s the opposite of intimate and it can be distracting switching attention between the movie (I’d forgotten how good it is) to a distant bit of live action, while a superfan bellows every note in your ear.

There are too many people here to get much character interaction, but some get up on stage for the dance scenes or to sing in the choir, and there are side areas where you can visit Beauty School or the Gym.

My advice is to get stuck in, get closer to the action and do learn the hand jive for the terrific dance contest scene, which has live cameras projecting the action onto screens.

Director Matt Costain does a pretty good job of marshalling this vast spectacle while designer Tom Rogers has fun creating a kind of distressed Americana, and making a shiny car materialise from the air.

Susan Kulharni faithfully recreates the costumes from the movie, and Stephanie Costi’s Sandy is in fine voice, as is Liam Morris who gets to dangle from a swing in Sandy and leap around on a car in Greased Lightnin’.

Performances can get lost in the space, but Lucy Penrose as Rizzo delivers fan favourite Sandra Dee while circulating around the floor on a moveable bed, and memorably takes centre stage in a ball gown for There Are Worse Things I Can Do.

You would arguably get a better sense of narrative by having a watching party of the movie, or getting tickets to the musical – but it might be a lot less fun.

Grease the Immersive Movie Musical runs until Sunday September 7 at Evolution London, in Battersea Park. Tickets from www.greasetheimmersivemoviemusical.com