Clem Garritty and Ollie Jones are the founders and creative directors of Swamp Motel, a creative studio that is pushing the limits of escape rooms and branded immersive social experiences. In an effort to provide group amusement during the COVID-19 lockdowns, Swamp Motel created Plymouth Point, an online escape experience. Later releases, The Mermaid’s Tongue and The Kindling Hour, completed The Isklander trilogy
Once the pandemic was over, Swamp Motel went on to create its first live experience called The Drop. This made its debut at the end of 2021 and enabled the company to go back to its roots in live theatre.
In 2022, Hemsley spoke to blooloop about the creative studio’s ethos:
“In my mind, theatre is experiencing a show from a seat. Immersive theatre pulls you from that seat. We had already been developing an approach that made it feel as if the action was happening to you. What we liked was that you were stepping into something that felt like you were a protagonist; it was your story to move through and drive forward.
“With this idea in mind, we are seeing what agency means to us, and it means being directly involved in the story. It shouldn’t feel like you are watching someone else go through it; you are going through yourself.”
Putting the narrative first is key, he added:
“We use the mechanics to move you through the narrative. I think a lot of people have mechanics, and then sprinkle the narrative on top. Escape rooms are fun, but we do think we’re doing something different. It’s more about a way to engage people in the story.”
Swamp Motel also creates innovative brand experiences, for example, The Boys live experience for Amazon. In 2023, it opened a new AI-driven location-based entertainment experience called Saint Jude, which ran from January to March. This was created in partnership with artificial intelligence company Charisma.