The ensemble that will guide us through one hundred historic years of Singaporean life framed within the same hotel appear accompanied by cymbals, pizzicato strings and brass. At the sight of their compact suitcases, we can all but smell the vintage leather throughout the meticulously executed opener. It’s a taste of great things to come. They don spotless uniforms, transforming into bellhops and maids, and a rousing excerpt of Rule, Britannia! checks us in to 1915. We voyeuristically observe a honeymooning couple; it’s a heinous transaction, but not for the expected reasons.

Hotel grants us peek-a-boo access to a guest room for eleven scenes; one set each decade. Together, the two-part epic runs five and a half hours; six vignettes in part one and five to conclude. Laborious this is not, as each episode stands alone and masterfully also achieves contextual success. It’s a fascinating, century-long journey to embark on. As the steadfast bricks and mortar create a frame, the whirlwind of action around them expertly explores the notion concerning walls being able to speak.

^{Hotel at OzAsia Festival. Photo © W!LD RICE}

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