THE HEARTBREAK HOTEL (Stage)
Drawn to the mysterious Heartbreak Hotel, a man discovers a nightmarish place where broken lovers are trapped forever in cycles of regret. (Horror)
Supporting Documents
URGENT CASTING!!!!
Genre: Horror/ psychological Thriller
LOG LINE:
A man returns to a strange hotel, haunted by the woman he abandoned, only to uncover a terrifying cycle in which heartbreak transforms guests into permanent residents.— and some guests never check out.
PREMISE
After receiving a mysterious invitation to the infamous Heartbreak Hotel, Daniel arrives believing he has never been there before. But from the moment he enters, the hotel seems to know him intimately. The receptionist greets him like an old guest, strangers recognise him, and Room 333 appears to be waiting specifically for his return.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
This play is directly inspired by the song "Place Hotel" by The Jackson 5, particularly its idea of heartbreak existing not simply as emotion, but as a physical place out of time, where people enter and struggle to escape. The image of a hotel inhabited by sorrow became the foundation for this story — a space where memory, regret, longing, and unresolved love manifest physically.
From this inspiration, the play develops its central tension: memory vs reality. Daniel is not merely haunted by Diana; he is haunted by the life he failed to choose and the version of himself that existed before fear, delay, and emotional betrayal corrupted what they had. The hotel feeds upon this instability between truth and self-deception. It becomes a psychological prison born from unresolved emotion.
WHAT YOU WILL GET: (Open to all backgrounds and levels of experience)
· This project is ideal for actors looking to build or refine their portfolio
· Collaboration with MA-student creatives, and full mention and credit.
· You will be perfoming for the Film Fest 2026, on a stage in Bath Spa Univeristy on the 30th of May.
CASTING CALL – MA SCRIPTWRITING PROJECT (BATH SPA UNIVERSITY)
Title: THE HEARTBREAK HOTEL
Location: University Of Bath Spa, UK
Production Type: Student Short Stage Production
Dates:[3-4 days of rehearsal + 30th may (performance date)]
Compensation: Unpaid (Travel expenses covered)
URGENT CASTING!
THE HEARTBREAK HOTEL
LOG LINE:
A man returns to a strange hotel, haunted by the woman he abandoned, only to uncover a terrifying cycle in which heartbreak transforms guests into permanent residents.— and some guests never check out.
DANIEL(18-35ys)
The protagonist. A deeply conflicted man trapped between memory, denial, and unresolved guilt. When he first arrives at the Heartbreak Hotel, Daniel presents himself as composed and ordinary — a man convinced he has built a stable life, a marriage, and a family. Yet beneath this carefully constructed identity lies someone emotionally fractured, burdened by a past he has spent years trying to erase. As the play unfolds, Daniel is forced to confront the truth about Diana, the woman he once loved and abandoned out of fear, hesitation, and emotional cowardice. The hotel gradually dismantles the false reality he has created for himself, blurring the line between memory and hallucination until he can no longer distinguish what is real from what he wishes had been real. His tragedy lies in the fact that he did love Diana deeply — yet never enough to choose her when it mattered most. By the end of the play, Daniel transforms from guest to prisoner, becoming another soul absorbed into the hotel’s endless cycle of heartbreak and regret. However, this transformation is not liberation. It is a conscious imprisonment. Daniel becomes aware of the system he now sustains, understanding that control does not free him from the hotel — it binds him to it more completely. He is no longer a lost guest, but a willing guardian of heartbreak, trapped within the very mechanism he now perpetuates
Character Traits: Emotionally repressed, nostalgic, conflicted, intelligent, guilt-ridden, observant, fragile beneath composure.
Signature Phrase: “I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
WHAT YOU WILL GET: (Open to all backgrounds and levels of experience)
This project is ideal for actors looking to build or refine their portfolio
Collaboration with MA-student creatives, and full mention and credit.
You will be perfoming for the Film Fest 2026, on a stage in Bath Spa Univeristy.
CASTING CALL –
MA SCRIPTWRITING PROJECT (BATH SPA UNIVERSITY)
Title: The heartbreak hotel Location: University Of Bath Spa, UK Production
Type: Student Short Stage Play
Production Dates:[3-4 days of rehearsal + 30th may (performance date)]
Compensation: Unpaid (Travel expenses covered)
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