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Mega-hit ABBA musical ‘Mamma Mia!’ (pictured) is famous for having the liveliest audiences in London, but even the most ebullient of hen dos must acknowledge that there is a line between watching a show enthusiastically and having an actual party.
But Björn Ulvaeus, one quarter of the Swedish super-band, has long been aware that plenty of punters would like to leap over that line with a feather boa round their neck and a piña colada in each hand – and since 2016 he’s been running a hit show called ‘Mamma Mia! The Party’ in Stockholm. It’s basically a pop-up Greek taverna, supposedly on the same island as the one in the musical, in which the audience is served Mediterranean food plus ouzo, lots of ouzo. Meanwhile, they’re entertained by a cast who continue the story of ‘Mamma Mia!’ while singing ABBA songs, including a few of the bigger numbers from the original show but also a good chunk that aren’t in it.
With a different writer and producers, it’s not a sequel per se, more a party-orientated dining experience that will appeal to lovers of ABBA and offer something fresh if you’ve seen the musical or film a double-digit number of times.
Planning permission for a temporary venue at an undeveloped site on Stamford Road, SE1 (just behind the National Theatre), has been sought, with the promise that the venue will also be available for potential use by the local community out of party hours.
Learn (a bit) more at the show’s official website.
Meanwhile, ‘Mamma Mia!’ continues at the Novello Theatre, booking into 2018.