This Is London - 8 November 2019

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Julia Imbach (Kostantina) and AJ Bentley (Adam) in
MAMMA MIA! The Party. Photos: Helen Maybanks.
MAMMA MIA! THE PARTY
Let’s face it, when has anyone been to a
celebration of any sort – birthdays,
weddings, you name it – when toes have
not tapped, nor dance floors resounded,
to the legendary songs of ABBA? The list
is endless, Dancing Queen, Super
Trouper, Voulez Vous and Gimme Gimme
Gimme, to name just a few. It was an era
of uplifting anthems which a succession
of generations came to know and love.
Escapism – certainly; a phenomenon of
true musical talent – without question.
As we all know, the songs became
Mamma Mia! The Musical on stage, and
two spectacular film successes, which
have now effortlessly transformed into
Mamma Mia! The Party at The O2 London,
a joyful celebration of good food, singing
servers, familiar storyline and a singalong
medley of the famous ABBA hits enjoyed
by packed houses on a nightly basis.
The concept is the vision of ABBA’s
Bjorn Ulvaeus who set the story to the
music he wrote with Benny Andersson,
(some with Stig Anderson). Along the
way, Björn shared his dream for Mamma
Mia! The Party with producer Ingrid
Sutej, added the wit of Sandi Toksvig,
and the show was born.
We begin with Adam and Konstantina,
who have fallen in love on the Greek
Island of Skopelos. There’s a catch,
though, as Konstantina’s father doesn’t
approve of her new English love for fear
he will take his daughter away. The story
is an exploration of Niko’s journey to
acceptance of his daughters choice, with
a few external factors (such as a very
stern looking Grandmother observing
from the balcony) helping him along the
way. The performances are all very
strong and young actress Julia Imbach
as Konstantina vocally steals the show.
The plot is a little tenuous but there are
some great one liners – ‘there’s nothing
camp about ABBA’ springs to mind.
However, that isn’t what Mamma Mia!
The Party is about.
Go for Elin Andersson’s impressive
acrobatics or for the terrific band who
play the songs of ABBA faultlessly. The
finale is really something to behold, with
more sequins and glitter than you can
imagine and all the greatest hits meshed
together in a fabulous singalong. The
audience is encouraged to jump out of
their seats and party with the cast, an
opportunity which most grabbed with both
hands. It’s enormous fun.
And, good news, there are still tickets
available for visitors who want to see the
hottest new show in town.
Lucie Henry
BODY WORLDS LONDON
FIRST ANNIVERSARY
Body Worlds London, the exhibition
that uses real human bodies preserved
through Dr Gunther von Hagens’
‘Plastination’ process to teach visitors
about anatomy and truly allows them to
explore the beauty under our skin,
celebrated its first anniversary at the
beginning of October.
Since it first opened its doors in
Piccadilly Circus, the exhibition has
had a jam-packed year. Having been
endorsed by some of the UK’s biggest
health organisations, Body Worlds have
made it their mission to educate the
general public on how best we can look
after our bodies. The attraction has also
made its mark on London’s tourism and
cultural map, winning the 2019 Trip
Advisor Travellers Choice Award.
Body Worlds is the only exhibition of
real human bodies with its own
established donor programme.
Currently, there are over 18,000 Body
Worlds donors worldwide who approved
to donate their body for public display
and educational purposes.
Peter Tabernal, CEO of Body Worlds
London said: ‘We are so proud of
everything we have achieved in just one
year here at Body Worlds London and are
so excited to look forward to the future,
with more great partnerships in the
pipeline. Becoming part of this great city’s
cultural landscape has always been so
important to us, and we feel we’ve done
just that through our incredible ventures
and collaborations that reach out to so
many different parts of the community.’
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