Elvis Revolution review: Immersive theatre is good again

Friday 18 July 2025 4:18 pm
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Friday 18 July 2025 6:48 pm

Elvis Revolution evaluate and star score: ★★★★

We reside in an age the place the picture of Elvis prceedes the fact of the person himself. Consider Presley and bequiffed impersonators from Vegas to Blackpool in all probability come to thoughts. In some ways, he has been bastardised by mimicry. Elvis Revolution has an extremely nuanced means of circumnavigating this drawback which I discovered extremely touching. I gained’t reveal the shock, however there are definitely no cheesy beachfront showmen making a dime right here.

Stay occasions house ImmerseLDN that homes the Elvis Revolution present is a part of a £300 million improvement at Royal Docks that additionally consists of Buddies and Squid Recreation immersive experiences. The present tells the backstory of the rock ‘n’ roll pioneer, specializing in how rhythm and blues, soul and the black expertise formed Presley.

Rising up in Mississippi, the Presleys have been certainly one of 4 white households in a predominantly black neighourhood, and Elvis’ actual life childhood good friend Sam Bell (who died in 2021) acts because the protagonist. The story explores their boyhood relationship via to when Elvis had develop into a worldwide celebrity. We meet the individuals who stood in Elvis’ means, and helped carved out his path.

Elvis Revolution: a brand new template for immersive theatre

The motion takes place in a TV studio, the backlot, a tropical bar and his hometown of Tupelo in Mississippi. All have been recreated with unimaginable consideration to element. There are some lovely scenes imagining motion hero variations of Elvis and Sam who, as youngsters, are caught in a storm. Utilizing projection screens and lighting shows, it’s a lovely method to convey their childhood creativity, and the present culminates in a very stirring scene depicting Elvis strolling on stage for his large TV return in ‘the ’68 Comeback Particular. The whirl of lighting and particular impacts make this hair-raising stuff.

The expensive-looking manufacturing takes nearly two hours to stroll via as actors hoard teams from set to set. It wouldn’t work with out succesful actors, however it usually doesn’t take a lot – the flurry of flustered techies or TV producers throughout the Elvis world – to make us really feel like we’re actually there. You exit the world of Elvis into an extremely energetic after celebration with Elvis themed “all shook up” cocktails and a reside band.

ImmerseLDN’s arrival into the immersive theatre house comes amid a lot criticism in regards to the state of the style as a complete. There have been too many common immersive theatre productions that haven’t had the imaginative high quality behind them to justify the ticket prices. Critics aren’t taking these reveals critically but both: solely two UK nationwide newspapers despatched reviewers to Elvis Revolution’s opening evening.

For the reason that likes of Punchdrunk invented the shape by staging theatre in deserted workplace blocks, the immersive panorama has been making an attempt to work out what to do subsequent. I’d argue that ImmerseLDN’s Elvis Revolution is edging nearer to that reply.

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