Hey Lovelies, 

Getting my parents to go out anywhere and enjoy something just the two of them is a hard task. Often, they will try to drag all of us kids with them or they simply won’t go. However, after a lovely holiday last week, in which they did everything to look after me and my condition, I wanted to treat them. Yet, I didn’t know how to do it best.

Then came a team of angels. Not Charlie’s but another kind. A while ago, I emailed a brilliant team about the chance to review Mamma Mia! The Party. A new live and immersive experience that was coming to The O2 in London, all the way from Stockholm. For years, it has been one of the shows to see when visiting the city, so when it opened this summer in the UK, lots of people were trying to get tickets.


Since I was little, the music of ABBA has played a big part in my life. My parents, especially my dad, adore them. If Mamma Mia is on the TV, they must watch it. We have the CDs in the car. When I was super small, they even took me to see an ABBA tribute act at our local theatre.

It is fair to say that they know and follow them quite strongly. There so, when the team asked me if I would like to go and review the experience I instantly said yes. Not for me, but for them. After telling them all about it, they were super excited to go. Instantly looking up everything about it, from the trailer to the food, they were ready and eager by 4pm yesterday when they set off.

Mamma Mia! The Party is an event-based around a four-course meal. Actors, singers, dancers and even the waiters all take part though to make it an occasion with a difference. Set in Nikos Taverna, an exotic restaurant serving the finest Mediterranean food and drink, the night plays out with an ABBA filled disco created by Björn Ulvaeus, Ingrid Sutej and Sandi Toksvig.


With the taverna, guests are treated to an island paradise vibe, as tables are set out around the courtyard filled with a fountain, olive trees and a bougainvillea. A piece of Greece right in the heart of London. As you enjoy your meal, singers and musicians surround you to tell the story of love and heartache, all to ABBA's greatest hits, over the course of four hours. With an ouzo or two thrown in as well.

Setting off two hours in advance, you would think my parents would have got there for the 6:30pm entrance time. However, they got lost, had an incident with my dad’s wheelchair and the O2 staff and then having to find their seats, meaning they missed the first two courses. Yet, this didn’t stop them from having what my mum described as a, “brilliant night with delicious food.”

Seated right next to the fountain, upon arrival they were greeted at the door by the lovely team, who lead them right into the experience. From there they were thrown into the action, even with the Island Life programme they were given as a souvenir. The actors took in my dad and made everyone laugh by joking about having to wait for him. Something my dad loved, due to him being the most excited of the pair about the show. From then on, the story started and they were sat on their seats singing away according to them.


With the song list including hits such as Money Money, SOS, Waterloo and Dancing Queen, there was also the option to get up and dance throughout. In fact, my mum said it was often encouraged by the actors in the show to do so and they even pulled the pair of them up to get involved. The music was also filled with performances from circus acts, with one coming out of the fountain in the middle according to my mum.

Speaking to the pair of them the day after, my mum stated that the whole thing never stops for the whole four hours you are in the event. Every bit of your money is worth it, as your eyes and ears don’t get a chance to have a break. Even when they were eating, my mum stated that there was something happening. One moment she recalls is a group of men in flippers sliding up and down staircases.

We were both a little worried before my parents went to the event though, about how my dad would handle the food. He is someone who likes his home comforts and will often pick fish and chips off a menu if it is on there. Mamma Mia! The Party changed him though. Tucking into the main and dessert courses, my dad loved how tender the beef flanks and lamb kleftiko were. He even tried the courgette Briam, potatoes Yiachni and cracked wheat with pomegranate and herbs, something he wouldn’t normally do.


The biggest shock though was that he had Greek yogurt on his dessert, as he can’t normally stand many diary products. My mum, well she was a fan of it all, even commenting on the brilliant sized mugs that came with the coffee and tea at the end. She did admit that she wanted to take one home but didn’t. They didn’t buy any drinks whilst there, deciding to stick to water instead, but the menu prices and range are big and both said from the people they were sat with, the size of them were very good.

Overall though what they enjoyed the most was the whole way in which the experience was created. Both stated that it was something they would never think of doing, but having now had the chance, they would do it again. Getting my dad up and dancing, even singing, is a bit of a task nowadays, as he struggles a lot with his back and breathing. Yet, the team managed to get him to do it. He has even been playing the CD ever since.

Being given this opportunity to send them to an experience like this is something I have never been able to do. I am so thankful to the team for allowing me the opportunity to do so. It is a moment that will go down forever with the pair of them. Island life has well and truly been injected into our home and I will forever love it. I may not be able to put up with their singing for much longer, but it is fair to say that the pair of them couldn’t advise you go to Mamma Mia! The Party anymore. Even the woman in Tesco’s was told to see it this morning during our weekly shop!