Ancient Grease – The Unofficial Parody Of Grease! – a camp mash-up of two classic stories
From the producers of Stranger Sings! and Mulan Rouge, comes Ancient Grease – The Unofficial Parody Of Grease! – a fun, silly mash-up that crashes Grease headfirst into Ancient Greece.
This reimagined parody smashes together the worlds of classical mythology and high-school romance for a night of musical theatre that doesn’t take itself remotely seriously and does exactly what it says on the tin.
The Story
You know Danny and Sandy… now meet Zeus and Hera.
At Olympus Academy High School, the new year is about to begin. New girl Hera (from Australia) spent the summer with her holiday fling, Zeus. When the pair unexpectedly come face to face again at school, the question becomes whether their romance will survive the year or if their hearts will wander elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the Three Fates watch from the sidelines, spinning the threads of destiny and ensuring that anything could happen.
Written by Lady Aria Grey and directed by Dan Wye, Ancient Grease leans heavily into camp humour and chaotic energy.
At almost three hours long, however, my mind did begin to wander slightly and at one point I found myself thinking more about the KFC mini fillet I had in my pocket, than what was happening on stage. The plot isn’t always the easiest to follow, but truthfully, that hardly matters. The audience knows exactly why they’re there: to have a laugh.
Music, choreography and design
There are some fun moments of choreography from Lucinda Lawrence and the songs have been cleverly adapted, changing just enough of the melodies and lyrics from the originals to hopefully avoid any legal trouble.
The set design by Isabella Van Braeckel however, is fairly minimal. The catwalk-style stage looks as though it might have been assembled during a particularly enthusiastic arts-and-crafts afternoon, with a generous helping of sellotape holding everything together.
The Cast
Lucy Penrose is consistently brilliant in every role I’ve seen her play. Here (as Aphrodite, the show’s version of Rizzo) she delivers the character with effortless confidence. Having played Rizzo in the Secret Cinema production of Grease in Battersea last year, she proves once again that this kind of role fits her perfectly.
Ollie Thomas Smith is delightfully camp as Hephaestus, pining for Zeus while giving the impression he might have just stepped straight out of a performance of The Book of Mormon with his overly enthusiastic energy.
As Zeus, Peter Camilleri brings plenty of humour to the role, avoiding the obvious macho stereotype and keeping the character playful.
But the standout performance of the evening comes from Philippa Leadbetter as Hera (the Sandy equivalent, famously played by Olivia Newton-John in the original film). Her exaggerated Australian accent is somewhere between Rebel Wilson and the iconic TV comedy Kath & Kim and is consistently hilarious.
The only performances that didn’t quite work for me were The Fates. While the concept is initially amusing (particularly the running gag of one Fate repeatedly disappearing to play other characters) the joke quickly becomes repetitive, and the roles feel underdeveloped.
Final thoughts
As they say, it isn’t Chekhov.
But Ancient Grease achieves exactly what it sets out to do: deliver a fun night out, packed with playful parody, familiar songs and a chaotic collision of two well-known worlds.
If you’re looking for high art, you might want to look elsewhere. If you’re looking for a silly, camp musical theatre night with plenty of laughs, this mash-up of Greece and Grease might be just the ticket.
★★★
Reviewed by West End Wilma
Photos by Flavia Fraser-Cannon
Ancient Grease – The Unofficial Parody Of Grease! is playing at The Vaults until 31 May 2026
More about the Cast
Christopher Patten-Walker – Ares
Christopher is a recently graduated actor, singer and dancer from South London.
He began doing graded exams in theatre and musical theatre from the University of West London whilst in high school and then went on to become a professional young performer by joining a London based theatre company called Russell Actors in Kensington.
He then went on to university to study Drama, English literature, and Musical Theatre both in the UK and USA, earning prestigious accolades such as the ‘English and Drama Practice-Based Project Prize’ and the ‘Sylvia Perry Prize’ for exceptional performance.
Grace Kelly Miller – Atropos
Grace is no stranger to The Vaults, having played Ginger (as well as General Lee on occasion) in ‘Mulan Rogue’ and Kelly Oz-born in ‘The Witches of Oz’. She is thrilled to be returning for more chaos and creativity in the form of Atropos this year.
Grace has made a career of being silly on stage with theatrical endeavours spanning from Shakespeare to Dr. Suess, Summer Rep seasons to devised performances, from late night cabarets to early morning pantomimes.
Alongside her acting work she creates a dungeons and dragons podcast called ‘No Small Rolls’, a show full of laughter, drama and intrigue – available wherever you get your podcasts!
Lara Sas – Clotho
Theatre Credits: Maleficent SLEEPING BEAUTY PANTOMIME (Nottingham Playhouse), Assistant Choreographer DEAR EVAN HANSEN (Asia Tour), Ensemble / Dance Captain / Cover Heidi / Zoe / Cynthia DEAR EVAN HANSEN (Uk Tour), Queen Vanity SNOW WHITE (Immersion Theatre), Fairy Sprout JACK AND THE BEANSTALK PANTOMIME (The Kenton Theatre), Squire Trelawney TREASURE ISLAND, Monica FRIENDS THE MUSICAL PARODY UK IRELAND TOUR,
Evil Villain / Principle Boy Todd A WILD CHRISTMAS PANTOMIME, Kate / Roberta / Theresa WORKING A MUSICAL (Upstairs at the Gatehouse), Lady Lamb A YEAR WITHOUT A SUMMER, Anne Of Beaujeu A MOTHERS WAR (Drayton Arms Theatre), Cinderella CINDERELLA PANTOMIME (Groundlings Theatre), Belle A CHRISTMAS CAROL, TWO AND A HALF SHOWBIZ GIRLS (Musical Cabaret), Rizzo GREASE (Italian Tour).
Lucy Penrose – Aphrodite
Lucy Penrose trained at Mountview Theatre Academy and most recently starred as Belle in Growled (Royal Vauxhall Tavern) and Rizzo in Grease: The Immersive Movie Musical for Secret Cinema, returning to the role after her 2023 Birmingham performance. She originated the role of Young Judy Garland in Judy! (previously Through The Mill) at The Arts Theatre, Southwark Playhouse and The Hippodrome Theatre, and Katie McBoil in the West End Wilma–nominated Eurovision, Your Decision (Above The Stag, Wonderville Theatre, The King’s Head Theatre and The RVT).
Other highlights include Madge Hardwick in Top Hat (The Royal Court Theatre), Mrs Cratchit and the Ghost of Christmas Past in A Pissedmas Carol (Sh!tfaced Showtime, Edinburgh Fringe), and Millie Michaels in California Suite (The Royal Court Theatre). TV credits include Crookshanks #2 in HBO’s Watchmen.
Ollie Thomas Smith – Hephaestus
Ollie is a London based performer. A graduate of The Urdang Academy (2023), he has enjoyed performing across the country, recently at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe last summer in the UK premiere of ‘I Was A Teenage She-Devil’. This is Ollie’s first time performing at The Vaults. He is thrilled to be continuing his journey working on new works in theatre, especially with a venue that focuses so passionately on the new, alternative and immersive arts.
Credits: The Wizard of Oz (Tinman) – Royal Caribbean Entertainment. I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Man 1) – The Old Joint Stock. I Was a Teenage She-Devil UK Premiere Production (Big Rod) – Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025. Beauty and the Beast (Beast) – Yeovil Octagon Theatre. Snow White (Ensemble/Puppet Captain) – Wolverhampton Grand Theatre
Workshops: It’s a Wonderful Knife: Christmas Dundee (Jaws/Arnold Schwarzenegger/Steve Irwin) – The Old Joint Stock.
Peter Camilleri – Zeus
Peter is a Maltese performer who has lived in London for 10 years. He studied at MPAA and at The Royal Academy of Music, meeting some truly inspirational people along the way.
Select credits include: O’dessasuite in Bat Out Of Hell (UK Tour), Jack in Jack and The Beanstalk (Landmark Theatres), Orly in Who Do Ya Love (Edinburgh Fringe), Mamma Mia! (UK and International Tour), We Will Rock You (RCCL)
Philippa Leadbetter – Hera
Philippa made her professional debut as Barb Holland in STRANGER SINGS (Southwark Playhouse/UK Tour).
She trained at the London School of Musical Theatre, where her credits included Mistress Quickly in THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR and Sarah in NO ONE IN THE WORLD at the Bridewell Theatre.
Safia Bartley – Athena
Safia is a graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama where she was awarded the Leverhulme Arts Trust Scholarship. Before her musical theatre training she graduated Cardiff University with a degree in Media, Journlism and culture.
Her credits since graduating include: Rae in Rainbow Rae and the Colour Stone Rescue (Eastbourne Theatres), The Lightbulb Princess in The Lightbulb Princess (UK Tour), Kelly in The Mad Ones (UK Premier) and more.
