Review Roundup: Did Critics Lay All Their Love On London's MAMMA MIA! THE PARTY?

MAMMA MIA! THE PARTY, the new immersive entertainment experience, has now opened at specially adapted venue at The O2 in London.

Created by ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus, Mamma Mia! the Party is a unique concept that puts guests in the heart of the action: over the course of more than four hours, they can enjoy a spectacular show, a four-course Mediterranean feast and an ABBA disco.

MAMMA MIA! THE PARTY is set in a taverna on the island of Skopelos, where most exteriors of the first MAMMA MIA! film were shot. Nikos and his wife Kate run this exotic and wonderful restaurant together with their family and friends. Told through dialogue and ABBA songs, a warm, romantic and funny story evolves and unfolds during the evening, taking place around the guests as they sit at their tables enjoying a gourmet Greek meal. The evening ends with the main floor transforming into a 1970s disco, where audience members are welcome to stay to sing and dance to original ABBA recordings.

Let's see what the critics had to say!

Marianka Swain, BroadwayWorld: In the jukebox musical tradition, narrative is very much just a line on which to peg all the familiar hits, and here the show certainly delivers, cramming in a whopping 35 ABBA songs. That means the surrounding story beats are necessarily brief and blunt. What really matters is the lead-in to the next song - and there are some all-time-classic cheesy segues here.

Mark Shenton: London Theatre: With some 500 covers, it is larger than any taverna I've ever been to - and operationally, at least, the first thing to induce absolute wonder is the slickness of the operation as meals are served by waiters (who all have a performing sideline, taking part in the singing and dancing alongside the named cast) across the three acts that the show is divided into. So an immediate shout-out is due to them for their diligence and good humour.

Andrew Pierce, Daily Mail: We dine as we watch the show, elements of which are frankly incomprehensible. I've still no idea why a silver water nymph emerges majestically from the restaurant's courtyard fountain to perform acrobatics with a hoop. Or why the character Nikos surrenders his apron to do a passable impersonation of a Druid, with gold leaves in his mane of dark black hair.

Alice Jones, The i Paper: The cast belt it out gamely gamely, and perform acrobatic routines atop the bar and fountain. While the script is marginally less polished than a village pantomime, it proves to be as irresistible as "Dancing Queen" at a wedding. As "One of Us" strikes up, a woman on the next table starts singing soulfully into her steak knife; another lights up her mobile phone torch and sways.

Tomé Morrissy-Swan, Telegraph: The food might not be anything to shout about; the storyline is basic. Jokes focus too much on stereotypes about broken crockery and angry grandmothers - "I'm Greek, economics was never our big thing," is a typical one-liner. The final disco is a rushed medley. [...] Yet the crowds will keep coming back, a testament to the crowd-pleasing genius of ABBA.

Paul Vale, The Stage: Story aside, this production simply raises the bar for all other immersive dining experiences. The attention to detail is meticulous, from the table settings to the clouds of bougainvillea hanging from every wall.

Andrzej Lukowski, Time Out: The performances are mostly a hoot, performed with a campy élan that sees the waiting staff break out into set-piece dance routines, accompanied by the deployment of various bells and whistles, including, at one point, pyro that comes out of the fountain in the centre of the room.

Alice Vincent, Telegraph: It shouldn't work: Mamma Mia! The Party fails as a musical, a gig, a dining experience and a nightclub. Those expecting a recreation of either Mamma Mia! films will be disappointed: there are no wild-child Streeps here, nor her ageing lovers. The show fails to offer the thrust of the movies or the depth of Abba's music. But take this consumerist concoction on its own terms and it is nearly as satisfying. The silliness is irresistible - only the churlish would claim this wasn't fun.

Rhian Lubin and Poppy Danny, Mirror: The feel-good factor lasts all four hours of the night, which is rounded off with a disco. But it should at these prices. Yes, bar Agnetha, Björn, Benny, and Anni-Frid reforming, this is the ultimate experience for an ABBA fan.