Immersive theatre is good again

Elvis Revolution review and star rating: ★★★★

We live in an age where the image of Elvis prceedes the reality of the man himself. Think of Presley and bequiffed impersonators from Vegas to Blackpool probably come to mind. In many ways, he has been bastardised by mimicry. Elvis Revolution has an incredibly nuanced way of circumnavigating this problem which I found incredibly touching. I won’t reveal the surprise, but there are certainly no tacky beachfront showmen making a dime here.

Event company ImmerseLDN has thrown £300 million at finding new and interesting ways to tell Elvis’ story (that money was spent on building the live performance space that houses Elvis Revolution, alongside Friends and Squid Game immersive experiences). Elvis Revolution tells the backstory of the rock ‘n’ roll pioneer, focusing on how rhythm and blues, soul and the black experience shaped Presley.

Growing up in Mississippi, the Presleys were one of four white families in a predominantly black neighourhood, and Elvis’ real life childhood friend Sam Bell (who died in 2021) acts as the protagonist. The story explores their boyhood relationship through to when Elvis had become a global superstar. We meet the people who stood in Elvis’ way, and helped carved out his path.

Elvis Revolution: a new template for immersive theatre

The action takes place in a TV studio, the backlot, a tropical bar and his hometown of Tupelo in Mississippi. All have been recreated with incredible attention to detail, and there are some incredibly touching moments. One bit imagining action hero versions of Elvis and Sam caught in a storm is a beautiful way to convey their childhood creativity, and the show culminates in a particularly stirring scene depicting Elvis walking on stage for his big TV return in ‘the ’68 Comeback Special. The whirl of lighting and special affects make it feel like being in an actual TV studio; it’s hair-raising stuff.

The expensive production would work without capable actors but it often doesn’t take much – the flurry of flustered techhies or TV producers within the Elvis world – to make us feel like we are truly there. You exit the world of Elvis into an incredibly lively after party with Elvis themed “all shook up” cocktails and a live band.

Aliens’s arrival into the immersive theatre space comes amid much criticism about the state of the genre as a whole. There have been too many average immersive theatre productions that haven’t had the imaginative quality behind them to justify the ticket costs. Elvis Revolution’s opening night was telling: only two theatre critics from UK national newspapers turned up, which suggests this sort of immersive show isn’t being taken as seriously as the West End.

Since the likes of Punchdrunk invented the form by staging theatre in abandoned office blocksthe immersive landscape has been trying to work out what to do next. I’d argue that ImmerseLDN’s Elvis Revolution is edging closer to that answer.

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