Name: Elvis Evolution.<\/p>\n
Age: New this week.<\/p>\n
Appearance: Up to 12 shows a day at Excel London, until December.<\/p>\n
What is it? A \u201cfirst of its kind\u201d production, according to its creators<\/a>, \u201ccelebrating the life and work of Elvis Presley.\u201d<\/p>\n Celebrating it how? With a \u201cwalk-through experience\u201d combining \u201ccutting-edge digital technology, live actors and musicians, mind-blowing multimedia and heart-pounding music\u201d.<\/p>\n So is it holograms of Elvis and that? Not exactly, no.<\/p>\n Can you be more specific? You really have to see it to describe it, and that will set you back at least \u00a375.<\/p>\n At least? VIP tickets are more like \u00a3300.<\/p>\n And what have the people who have seen it said? Different things.<\/p>\n Like what? \u201cAbsolutely atrocious,\u201d was the assessment of one attender.<\/p>\n Not quite two thumbs up, then. \u201cIt was a shambles from start to finish, there was no Elvis; it was just a video of him that you could watch on YouTube,\u201d a VIP ticket holder told the BBC<\/a>.<\/p>\n Oh dear. Then again, some fans seem to have really enjoyed it, with one saying she \u201cloved every minute<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n What about the reviews? Decidedly mixed. The Telegraph gave it one star and described it as \u201ca limp assembly of video, actors, a live band and indifferently recreated sets\u201d. Time Out was much more positive, giving it three stars<\/a>, but also alluding to \u201ca noticeable amount of booing\u201d.<\/p>\n How do you explain the discrepancy? It appears to be a matter of expectations. When the show was announced last year, the creators, Layered Reality, suggested it would use AI and holographic projection to create a lifesize digital Elvis, leading to obvious comparisons with the hugely successful virtual reality extravaganza Abba Voyage<\/a>.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s nothing of the kind? \u201cWe ultimately took the creative decision not to mimic Elvis\u2019s performances,\u201d said a company spokesperson. \u201cInstead, we use AI to upscale archive footage.\u201d<\/p>\n What does that mean? Reviews suggest they have dressed up some footage from Elvis\u2019s 1968 comeback TV special and built a show around it (which includes visits to three separate themed bars selling expensive drinks).<\/p>\n Sounds more like an escape room. Some visitors have drawn comparisons to that Willy Wonka experience fiasco in Glasgow last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n