“It was a shambles from start to finish... you could have seen this at the local theatre": The 'immersive' Elvis Evolution show isn’t the comeback special that some fans were hoping for

It looks like the Elvis Evolution show that was announced back in early 2024 has run into T.R.O.U.B.L.E, with many punters complaining the ‘immersive’ show doesn't resemble the one that was originally announced.

Layered Reality, the group behind the show, initially promised that Elvis Evolution would be a “jaw dropping concert experience” that featured a “life-size digital Elvis” made possible by the company’s “unique blend of technology, augmented reality, theatre, projection and multi-sensory effects.”

However, it seems that there is no hologram Elvis, and with their hopes raised by the level of production seen at Abba Voyage, many fans have been left feeling disappointed, to say the least.

Talking to the BBC, Mark and Tracy Baldwin said that they had forked out £300 for VIP tickets for the show which they described as “absolutely atrocious.”

“It was a shambles from start to finish, there was no Elvis, it was just a video of him that you could watch on YouTube.” She described it as something "you could have seen this at the local theatre for £30".

Meanwhile, Paige Rannigan said "it was nothing like what was advertised or promised," and Lizzie Ward summed it up as a “low-quality theatrical performance."

Reviews of the show, which runs until December at the London ExCel Centre have been mixed. The Daily Telegraph gave it one star, calling it an “underwhelming, flung-together epitaph for the King Of Rock n’ Roll.” Time Out gave it three stars out of five, though given that its reviewers no longer give any show they award stars to less than three, this hardly amounts to a vote of confidence.

A spokesperson for Layered Reality have defended the show, saying: "A small number of people have pointed out that they were expecting a hologram concert, due to the initial announcement made in January 2024. As with many complex productions that are two years in the making, the concept developed from those early stages, and this was made clear when tickets went on sale in October 2024.

"We ultimately took the creative decision not to mimic Elvis's performances. Those moments proved to be too iconic and irreplaceable. Instead, we use AI to upscale archive footage and in moments we know happened but where no footage existed, offering a new lens into his world."

The problem, then, would seem to be the same with any hologram show seeking to ‘recreate’ a dead performer. Abba Voyage worked because the real group - all of whom are still alive - spent hundreds of hours having their movements and voices ‘captured’ by the technology. You see their avatars, but those movements and sounds are all made by the real Abba, in the 21st Century. Elvis, however, famously left the building 48 years ago, so all you’re working with is old footage.

After its run at the ExCel, Elvis Evolution was set to move to Las Vegas, Berlin and then Tokyo. Interestingly, none of these transfers have yet been confirmed.