”Mamma Mia! The Party” is being produced in Stockholm by Abba’s Björn Ulvaeus
The recently acclaimed site-specific production of Sweeney Todd, which transferred from a pie shop in Tooting to a mock-up in the West End, appears to have sparked a trend.
The New York Times reports that Abba musical Mamma Mia! will receive a new 'immersive' staging in a Stockholm beer hall.
Titled Mamma Mia! The Party, she show's creative team will transform the beer hall, which is situated near an Abba museum, into a "Mediterranean restaurant similar to the Skopelos tavern" featured in the show.
Abba's Björn Ulvaeus is producing Mamma Mia! The Party, which opens in January, and confirmed that if it was a success it would be replicated in other cities.
He said: "I've been sitting in theaters around the globe since we started, and have experienced that happy mood in the audience, where people stand up in the aisles and dance and sing, and I hear constantly about women who gather and have Mamma Mia! Saturday nights.
"This is the next extension from that: transfer the mood to a restaurant – a Greek restaurant, of course – have a gigantic party, and tell a little story in real time."
But the show will not follow the precise storyline of the stage show and film. The plot will be semi-improvised from night to night based on interactions with the audience, with stories being created based on Abba songs.
Perhaps Ulvaeus is hoping to create a new life for the show in wake of news that the Broadway production of Mamma Mia! is to close in September after a 14-year run.