Frenchie appears in Battersea Park
Didi Conn, who originated the famous role of Frenchie in the beloved 1978 Paramount Pictures film Grease, made a surprise appearance at Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical in Battersea Park. To the amazement of the audience, Ricky Wilson – lead singer of the Kaiser Chiefs and in the role of Teen Angel – sang Beauty School Dropout to not one, but two Frenchies. Revealing Didi Conn, the original Frenchie from the iconic movie, alongside Jess Smith, who has taken on the role in this production proved a full circle moment for fans and audiences alike.
This summer Secret Cinema is welcoming audiences back to Rydell High once more with the return of the smash-hit Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical, following its sold-out run in 2025. The production opens at Evolution London in Battersea Park for a strictly limited run to 13 September.
Didi Conn today said, “Grease is still the word! I’m so happy to be in London and had so much fun jumping into this immersive experience. It was a joy to rock and roll the night away with all of you gorgeous Pink Ladies and T- Birds; it was a blast! A wop Baba Lu mop ahh wop Bam Boom!”
Merritt Baer, Artistic Director and Producer of Secret Cinema added, “One of the greatest privileges of bringing iconic stories to life is creating moments that simply couldn’t happen anywhere else. Seeing Didi Conn reunited with Frenchie in front of a live audience was pure magic. Moments like this are what Secret Cinema is all about”.
Each performance of Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical is a two hours and fifteen minutes spectacular. Come down to Rydell High as we relive memorable moments from ‘Beauty School Dropout’, featuring Teen Angel star Ricky Wilson, and ‘Summer Nights’, to ‘Greased Lightnin’’ and ‘We Go Together’. Every iconic song from the beloved 1978 Paramount Pictures film comes to life as a knock-out cast and live band perform against multiple movie screens.
From the moment they enter this modern live experience, audiences step into the world of the movie, exploring the iconic locations including Frosty Palace, The Autoshop, and The Carnival and immerse themselves in school spirit, training with Coach Calhoun, cheering on the T-Birds, taking part in a choir practice and even tasting 1950s American diner-style delights.
The innovative production is brought to life by the multi-award-winning creative team of Matthew Costain – Director; Tom Rogers – Set Designer; Jennifer Weber – Choreographer; Howard Hudson – Lighting Designer; Gareth Fry – Sound Designer and Ian William Galloway – Video Designer.
Evolution London, Battersea Park, Chelsea Bridge Gate, Queenstown Road, London, SW11 4NJ until September 13th.
Booking and full details: www.greasetheimmersivemoviemusical.com
