Hemsley joined Swamp Motel as managing director in 2018 / photo: Swamp Motel
Immersive entertainment company, Swamp Motel, is set to launch The Drop, a new live experience that follows on from the success of the company’s Isklander trilogy, which was created during lockdown.
Swamp Motel’s first live experience since 2019, The Drop will be staged in an office block in central London and will invite audiences into a lift encountering: “A heart-racing thriller in which they have to work out what’s going on within four small walls.” It will be followed by an interactive film, also named The Drop. A flavour of what to expect can be found at: www.attractionsmanagement.com/thedrop
“The Drop is at the intersection of digital technology and physical experience,” Swamp Motel MD, Daniel Hemsley, tells Attractions Management. "We’re really excited about coming back to our roots with a physical live experience, but also bringing everything we’ve learned during the pandemic to it in terms of the different ways you can use technology.
“We’re looking forward to taking the techniques we’ve learned during the pandemic so far, from a storytelling perspective, into the physical world and inviting audiences to experience a story that’s going to be a hybrid in two senses: you come to see and experience the show in person, but the story is bigger than the things around you in the space – you can access it from your phone or from a terminal and that influences what you’re experiencing. There’ll also be an online version of the story.
“Historically, when we’ve worked with brands, we’ve built really rich experiences that might only be seen by hundreds of people, but since the start of the pandemic, we’ve had 65,000 people experiencing our online games all over the world – we don’t want to lose that accessibility.”
Swamp Motel was launched in 2017 by Ollie Jones and Clem Garritty, born of a desire to see “imaginative, daring brands tell their stories through immersive experiences – thrilling their audiences in the same way theatre does.” High profile projects included the creation of an immersive Art Deco ‘Bombay Noir thriller’ for the launch of restaurant brand Dishoom’s flagship in Kensington, London; an immersive dining train experience for Bombay Sapphire; and the construction of a zombie-infested police station for the launch of Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 remake.
During the UK’s first lockdown in 2020, the company created Plymouth Point, an online immersive escape room that proved hugely popular with the public. The 90-minute experience invited guests to act as detectives, searching the internet and hacking into people’s social media accounts for clues to solve the mystery of the disappearance of a young woman.
“Early in the pandemic, we could see that live theatre and entertainment was not going to happen for a while,” said Hemsley. “We saw and understood that audiences were gathering online, and we knew that people needed entertainment and escapism more than ever. We asked ourselves: could we deliver an immersive experience through a laptop and what would it take to do that?
“For us, successfully immersing you in a story means surprising you, hopefully shocking you in a positive way, subverting your expectations. It’s about trying to build a story world that feels bigger than the ‘room’ or space you’re currently in, but the story should feel as though it’s happening to you and your group, and you should have the agency to move through it.
“In understanding that the internet was the new venue, we realised that there were a lot of creative opportunities that meant the story could go into some really interesting directions, and we could really make it feel as though it was happening to you and your group in real time.”
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Hemsley joined Swamp Motel as managing director in 2018 / photo: Swamp Motel
Immersive entertainment company, Swamp Motel, is set to launch The Drop, a new live experience that follows on from the success of the company’s Isklander trilogy, which was created during lockdown.
Swamp Motel’s first live experience since 2019, The Drop will be staged in an office block in central London and will invite audiences into a lift encountering: “A heart-racing thriller in which they have to work out what’s going on within four small walls.” It will be followed by an interactive film, also named The Drop. A flavour of what to expect can be found at: www.attractionsmanagement.com/thedrop
“The Drop is at the intersection of digital technology and physical experience,” Swamp Motel MD, Daniel Hemsley, tells Attractions Management. "We’re really excited about coming back to our roots with a physical live experience, but also bringing everything we’ve learned during the pandemic to it in terms of the different ways you can use technology.
“We’re looking forward to taking the techniques we’ve learned during the pandemic so far, from a storytelling perspective, into the physical world and inviting audiences to experience a story that’s going to be a hybrid in two senses: you come to see and experience the show in person, but the story is bigger than the things around you in the space – you can access it from your phone or from a terminal and that influences what you’re experiencing. There’ll also be an online version of the story.
“Historically, when we’ve worked with brands, we’ve built really rich experiences that might only be seen by hundreds of people, but since the start of the pandemic, we’ve had 65,000 people experiencing our online games all over the world – we don’t want to lose that accessibility.”
Swamp Motel was launched in 2017 by Ollie Jones and Clem Garritty, born of a desire to see “imaginative, daring brands tell their stories through immersive experiences – thrilling their audiences in the same way theatre does.” High profile projects included the creation of an immersive Art Deco ‘Bombay Noir thriller’ for the launch of restaurant brand Dishoom’s flagship in Kensington, London; an immersive dining train experience for Bombay Sapphire; and the construction of a zombie-infested police station for the launch of Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 remake.
During the UK’s first lockdown in 2020, the company created Plymouth Point, an online immersive escape room that proved hugely popular with the public. The 90-minute experience invited guests to act as detectives, searching the internet and hacking into people’s social media accounts for clues to solve the mystery of the disappearance of a young woman.
“Early in the pandemic, we could see that live theatre and entertainment was not going to happen for a while,” said Hemsley. “We saw and understood that audiences were gathering online, and we knew that people needed entertainment and escapism more than ever. We asked ourselves: could we deliver an immersive experience through a laptop and what would it take to do that?
“For us, successfully immersing you in a story means surprising you, hopefully shocking you in a positive way, subverting your expectations. It’s about trying to build a story world that feels bigger than the ‘room’ or space you’re currently in, but the story should feel as though it’s happening to you and your group, and you should have the agency to move through it.
“In understanding that the internet was the new venue, we realised that there were a lot of creative opportunities that meant the story could go into some really interesting directions, and we could really make it feel as though it was happening to you and your group in real time.”
New opening: The deepest dive
Featuring post-apocalyptic underwater environments and the world’s deepest pool, Deep Dive Dubai is making waves
Sustainability: A brighter future
With a zero-emission hotel and plans for a huge photovoltaic plant, PortAventura World is moving towards a new energy model
Museums: Play on
Using emotion, technology and special effects, Ravinia Music Box is bringing the music of Leonard Bernstein to new audiences
Tourism: Local heroes and global nomads
From globally-renowned art galleries to community-run attractions, a new breed of visionaries are reimagining tourism in this rural idyll
Planetariums: Thomas J Wong
As the world’s largest museum of astronomy opens in Shanghai, we speak to the architect who helped make the vision a reality
World Expo: Expo 2020 Dubai launches
It was delayed by a year due to COVID-19, but the Expo has now opened with more than 200 exhibitors and a masterplan designed by HOK, Arup and Populous
Museums: Phillip Tefft
The Imperial War Museum is bringing untold stories to life with its Second World War and Holocaust Galleries. Exhibition designer Phillip Tefft shares the journey
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
Experience design company, BRC Imagination Arts, has completed a transition that sees founder
Bob Rogers pass ownership of the business to four long-serving senior executives, while
remaining actively involved with the company.
Movie Park Germany has opened a new Paramount Pictures-themed attraction as part of its 30th
anniversary celebrations, using immersive storytelling and adaptive reuse to reinforce the park’s
longstanding “Hollywood in Germany” positioning.
Therme Manchester’s 28-acre development, which will include interconnected glass pavilions
that measure 65,000sq m, will be the largest bathing and wellbeing attraction in the world once
complete, according to prof David Russell, CEO of Therme UK.
Efteling has opened Hooghmoed, a new family drop tower designed to broaden the appeal of its
recently launched Sirene Island themed area and introduce younger visitors to thrill attractions.
A proposed Puy du Fou development near Bicester and Universal Destinations and Experiences’
planned resort in Bedford are emerging as part of a wider transformation of the Oxford–
Cambridge Growth Corridor into a major centre for UK leisure and tourism inv
Shedd Aquarium has opened the Immersion Theater developed in partnership with SimEx-
Iwerks, as part of a wider strategy to enhance the guest experience and create additional
revenue opportunities.
The UK government has announced a temporary reduction in VAT on visitor attractions and
children’s meals as part of a summer cost-of-living support package designed to stimulate the
visitor economy and encourage family days out.
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