MUSIC AND dance have always been associated with the Jamaican hotel industry, but theatrical productions have not.

This pattern was broken recently when Sandals Whitehouse European Village and Spa launched its 'Evening at the Theatre' series. Organised as a feature of the hotel's Sports and Creative Club, the award winning play Class of 73, starring the immensely popular actor, Oliver Samuels, was staged. The cast, which included highly experienced dramatist, Glen Campbell, performed at the hotel after a successful season playing to audiences across Jamaica and overseas.

The Sandals Whitehouse European Village and Spa resort boasts a modern proscenium arch theatre, complete with a mezzanine floor and tiered seating areas on the lower levels. The space is designed with excellent sight lines from any angle and is self-contained with bar service, a choice of plush cushioned chairs or banquette seats, cocktail tables and opulently designed powder room and dressing rooms. Actress Fae Ellington, who had previously visited the resort and saw the theatre, said that she was delighted to find a space in a Jamaican hotel designed with all the elements to accommodate

It attracted a wide cross-section of notable personalities, professionals and socialites from as far away as Mandeville and Negril.

Guests at the hotel had the opportunity to see the play, if they desired, without charge and for the curious ones, it provided a glimpse into another aspect of the Jamaican entertainment scene that they would not normally be exposed to.

Altogether, the Evening at the Theatre salutes the dramatic arts in Jamaica, while serving as a unique way to appropriately utilise the hotel's facilities to benefit the community in a non-traditional way.