Grease - Kilworth House Theatre Review

Review by Mark

Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review

Get ready to rock and roll as Kilworth House Theatre is transformed into the iconic Rydell High for the summer of 2025! The beloved musical Grease delights the audience with an energetic performance led by Michael Nelson as Danny Zuko and Lillia Squires as Sandy Dumbrowski.

Lillia Squires as Sandy and Michael Nelson as Danny. Photo by Fox Corporate Photography

Nelson impresses throughout with strong vocals and an excellent stage presence. He carries the emotions of the role with great skill. Squires builds her Sandy well and bursts to its full life as she throws her shackles off and reveals the infamous transformation. The pair make a great central couple who you want to root for. Julia Imbach is superbly staunch as Betty Rizzo. Her attitude rarely slips and she is so watchable. Cristian Zaccarini as Kenickie also impresses with his delivery of the role. Jade May Alkema stands out in the ensemble as Patty Simcox whilst the utterly delightful Beth Scott as Jan and Max James Hodge as Roger have a stand out number ‘Mooning’ in the first act.

Directed and choreographed by Ryan Lee Seager, the production features some tremendous dance sequences and all of the iconic numbers are staged really well. The choreography fizzles and the flair the cast bring to numbers like ‘Greased Lightnin’’ or ‘Born To Hand Jive’.

The company of Grease. Photo by Fox Corporate Photography

Much has been said on social media about “Grease Whitening” with no diversity among the cast. It is a great shame that even though there are black faces in the cartoon artwork on the stage design that there is no representation on the stage itself.

Fans of the musical, the film or even just the soundtrack will enjoy themselves and clearly the audience lap it all up. Those classic songs are always great to hear live and the orchestra under musical director and supervisor, Richard Atkinson, always sound fantastic especially matched with Chris Whybrow’s sound.

Grease continues to be a celebration of youth, love, and friendship that will leave the audience singing and dancing long after the performance ends. Not everything here hits the heights but it’s a visual treat with impressive design by Philip Witcomb and magnificent lighting by Jason Taylor. It really comes to life as the day light fades.

Grease continues at Kilworth House Theatre until Sunday 7th September 2025. Limited tickets remain from https://www.kilworthhouse.co.uk/kilworth-house-theatre/what-s-on/grease/

The cast of Grease. Photo by Fox Corporate Photography