The Hotel Room

The Hotel Room by Ashley Burgoyne is an excellent choice of play for a group as it uses one set and, because it follows four couples who use the same hotel room (on different nights), it means the actors can rehearse their scenes independently.  It is also a play that has fairly equal sized parts and therefore gives everyone a chance to shine.   

The set was one box set and described as a hotel room that has seen better days. To me, it looked in fairly good condition, but the rose patterned wallpaper was a fair representation of a past era and gave the impression of dated décor. The props – mainly personal items associated with a stay in a hotel room – such as vanity mirror, Bible, cups, kettle etc were in keeping with the story.    

There were many scene changes requiring costumes for all ranging from well off middle aged couple, parents on a break from their children and a pair of young lovers; all were appropriately dressed with good attention to detail.    

The lighting was well controlled: up and down as necessary in between scenes and occasionally slightly dimmer to portray darkness. Electronic candles were used for the ‘romantic’ scene to good effect. Voices were projected well, clear and easy to understand.  The sound level was very good and there were good choices of music between scenes.

This was a great ensemble piece ranging from comedy to a rather touching final scene. The characters were well rounded and there were strong performances from all. The stories, and characters, were interwoven and the maids who changed the rooms in between scenes had the challenge of keeping the dialogue going while changing sheets and pillow cases.  They rose to this challenge brilliantly, working as they gave their opinions on the room’s occupants. The hotel guests brought their stories alive and there were some great, memorable moments. Jason Kewley (as Dallas) did an authentic drunken fall that brought many laughs as did the discovery of baby sick on her nightdress when Andrew and Susan tried to engage in some romance!  This tremendous team effort from all on the stage, behind it, Front of House and in the car park, provided us with a good few hours of fun and laughter.  Hart Players are to be congratulated on staging  a polished production and overcoming the difficulty of losing their previous performance space and finding a great alternative.     

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