A night of hope, crisis, doubt and unexpected encounters
Chichester-based Lila Dance bring The Hotel Experience to Worthing’s Connaught Theatre on July 17 at 8pm – a show they were determined they weren’t going to lose when the pandemic hit.
As co-artistic director Carrie Whitaker explains, the company did the research for the show in 2018 or maybe even before that and then started touring it at the end of 2019.
“So the show was pretty bedded down, and we have got a really lovely cast that have been with us.
“And so the show was touring when we had to put it on hold when Covid hit. We totally understood the situation but as artists it can be really difficult to keep yourself going.
“I was lucky enough to have things that were still rolling on, but when you look at colleagues and fellow artists, you could see just how difficult it was.
“But we decided that this show was not going to be ended by Covid.
“We just wanted to put a positive spin on it and come back with something really positive.
“I live in Worthing. I am a great Worthing lover. Worthing has had to work hard to get their audience back, and I just feel really excited about taking the work to Worthing now. For me, that’s just really lovely.
“I feel confident about it all, but I do also feel apprehensive. I think we are now doing all the right things in as much as you can with something so unpredictable, but I do think everybody wants the same goal now, that there is a real desire to make the arts come back in a way that is positive.”
Certainly, Carrie feels changed by the pandemic experience: “For one thing, I am just really grateful to be able as an artist to come out the other side and to continue to work. It does put everything into perspective. We have just come back from Cumbria, and before, nine hours in a car, you would have just thought ‘Well, that’s a long way.’
“But I think rather than being slightly disgruntled, you are thinking that it is a nice trip away and feel really pleased.
“And the big thing is just seeing an audience again. Mostly they will be wearing masks, but you can still tell that they are engaged with what you are doing.”
As for the show itself, The Hotel Experience sees a man check into a hotel the night before his wedding unaware that things may not be as they seem.
As the clock ticks, the walls around him seem to blur and dissolve as fragments of memories tumble into the room in the form of past lovers. They fall from the ceilings, crawl out from under the bed and step out of wardrobes to face him once more with full force and in vivid colours.
“The Hotel Experience becomes a night of doubt, hope, crisis and unexpected encounters. When the sun rises, he has an important decision to make.
“He has to decide whether he is going to get married. He has not boarded a flight to his own wedding. He spends the night in the hotel and lots of memories from the past come to him.
“It is a bit of a journey of extreme emotions. Sometimes it is very lighthearted and joyful and there are also moments of despair. It is typical of the work that we do.
“We try to make work that looks at real people. If you are new to dance or if dance is not your thing, you won’t feel alienated by this piece.”