Immersive Sensory Experience London | House of Sisters Grimm

INALA, one of the most anticipated musicals in London, arrives in the West End as an immersive sensory experience.

Johannesburg, South Africa – May 2025 — In a powerful celebration of South African culture and global storytelling, Sisters Grimm’s INALA returned to its roots with a sold-out premiere on 22 May at the Mandela Auditorium, Joburg Theatre. The Grammy-nominated production — which blends Zulu vocal harmonies with pop and classical influences — drew standing ovations and critical acclaim, prompting the theatre to add a second performance on 23 May due to unprecedented demand.

Audiences in the West End will soon be immersed in the same creative vision — a carefully curated immersive sensory experience in London, blending South African live music, visual art, and fine wine.

Co-created by the late Joseph Shabalala, founder of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Ella Spira MBE with choreography by Mark Baldwin OBE, INALA has long been recognised as a trailblazer in international cultural collaboration.

This historic South African debut marks a defining milestone for the show and its creators, ahead of its next chapter: a permanent West End residency at House of Sisters Grimm, launching Autumn 2025 — a major new addition to the landscape of London shows and West End musicals.

INALA’s South African Musicians Performing Live at Joburg Theatre’s Mandela Stage

The cast of fourteen extraordinary South African performers — selected from over 300 auditionees in Soweto — electrified the audience with a 60-minute performance of vocal and physical storytelling, culminating in standing ovations across both nights.

Yet INALA was more than a show — it was an immersive cultural event.

Ella Spira MBE at the Immersive Sensory Experience of INALA’s Musical Premiere

Ella doesn’t just create — she documents. Her art is lived, felt, and grounded in place. What we’ve built with INALA is not just a show, but a global platform for preserving and celebrating heritage through contemporary artistry.

Pietra Mello-Pittman MBE, Co-Founder & Director, Sisters Grimm

Guests at the pre- and post-show celebrations were treated to a showcase of South African cultural excellence, featuring:

A fully immersive sensory experience presented by the House of Sisters Grimm premiered in Johannesburg ahead of its permanent residency in London’s West End.

Pietra Mello-Pittman MBE, Albert Ahrens, and Ella Spira MBE at the INALA Gala in Johannesburg

A curated South African fine wine offering with tasting notes by celebrated wine expert Michael Fridjhon, highlighting the character and complexity of each pour.
Limited-edition wine collaborations with:
- Ahrens Family Wines, from minimal intervention and site specific producer Albert Ahrens, featuring a painting created in situ by Ella Spira MBE from a private aerial flight over the vineyard’s terroir — now immortalised on the label of Ahrens Black.
- The full allocation of Jane Ferreira’s Dainty Bess Cap Classique featuring a distinctive Robertson landscape.
- Chenin Blanc from Cape Wine Master Janno Briers-Louw of EENZAAMHEID, a 7th generation certified fair trade estate producer of Belgian descent.
An original art exhibition of 25 landscape paintings by Ella Spira MBE, created across South Africa’s most iconic and remote terroirs, each capturing the essence of place through visual storytelling — a preview of what will become an established immersive exhibition in London.

Guests included cultural leaders, international diplomats, collectors, and creatives who all experienced a gala event that embraced the multidisciplinary evening of the live performance, gallery, South African fine wine bar and uniquely curated luxury cocktails.

World-first multisensory extravaganza

This world-first multisensory extravaganza of Grammy-nominated musicals, immersive gallery installations, and the iGOLI bar, exclusively serving South African fine wine and cocktails, will open in its permanent home in London’s West End, at the soon-to-be revealed House of Sisters Grimm, September 2025.

Positioned as a standout destination for bespoke events in London and home to one of the most exciting and globally acclaimed shows in the city, it will redefine the boundaries of immersive sensory experiences.

Sisters Grimm remain committed to INALA’s ongoing presence and legacy in its homeland through future tours, cast collaborations, artistic partnerships and social impact projects.

This is not the end.

It is the beginning.

This is more than a show.

It is a movement.