Through a partnership with private theater group Revels in Hand, onefinestay is bringing an exciting new element to their luxury private rental offerings.
Picture it: You come down the stairs of your dreamy onefinestay vacation home to see your friends sipping cocktails and chatting in anticipation—the show is about to begin. Entertainment and vacation are a match made in heaven, and Accor’s luxury rental service onefinestay has partnered with London-based private theater group Revels in Hand to combine the two in the most intimate of settings.
"At onefinestay experience is everything,” says Michele Bayens, onefinestay director of concierge, Americas. “Our dedicated concierge team is trained to create memorable experiences around the world, and we love to suggest out-of-the-box ideas that our team has discovered, but guests might have never have thought of."
Onefinestay and Revels in Hand hosted their launch event at this onefinestay property in New York City.
A custom-tailored performance by professional actors right there in your villa? That’s definitely an experience you won’t forget. Whether you’re celebrating a birthday, holiday or simply the fact that you’re on vacation, the Revels team can craft a performance that perfectly complements the setting and your group.
“Together we are an unbeatable team because [onefinestay] has access to absolutely stunning properties that really play into what we can deliver best, which is putting theater in a place that you wouldn't usually have theater,” says co-founder of Revels in Hand, Melanie Fullbrook.
Bespoke Performances
The Revels team creates performances tailored to the audience and location.
The range of talent and level of personalization is part of what makes a Revels in Hand show so special. Along with reenactments of popular musicals and plays by icons like Shakespeare and Noel Coward (they have exclusive rights to some of his lesser-known plays), they can create bespoke murder mysteries, holiday plays, comedies, poetic speeches and more that take the audience and location into account.
“If you're booking a onefinestay villa in Italy with a swimming pool and you want to have a pool party, then we would create something around the pool, but if you're having a dinner party in a little cottage, we can do something very different,” co-founder Lucy Eaton says. “Or if someone’s in a onefinestay property in a particular city and they want to learn about it, we might write some funny or entertaining sketches about the history of the place that they are in, especially if the property has a particularly interesting story.”
Along with tailoring the narrative and content, Revels in Hand tailors the structure of each performance to the desires of the client and the nature of the celebration. A poetic two-minute toast at dinner, a weekend full of interactive treasure hunts and elaborate plays—the possibilities are truly endless for how the Revels team can lay out their performance.
From stand-up comedies to Shakespearean plays, Revels in Hand offers a wide range of entertainment options.
“Say, for example, you're staying in a beautiful onefinestay apartment or home and you want to have a special dinner party one night, where you and your group dress up,” Fullbrook says. “We could produce a 35-minute comedy with a 1920s or Gatsby theme. Everyone dresses up, they have a beautiful meal and then before dessert, they retire to a different room and sit down on the comfy sofas to watch.”
Another popular structure the Revels team offers is an entertainment package with a variety of shows throughout the guests’ stay. “You could have a half-an-hour stand-up comedy on Friday night, a pianist on Saturday and the full play on Sunday,” Fullbrook says.
VIP Experience
No matter how bespoke or unique, the element that makes any show a memorable one is the performers themselves, and Revels in Hand has access to some of the best in the industry. These folks work with some of the biggest streaming platforms and networks worldwide. “We snatch them up in between their other professional jobs and lend them to our clients for the one-night-only performances,” Fullbrook says.
Not only do guests get to enjoy a gorgeous private show by accomplished performers, but they also have the option to meet and mingle with esteemed, professionally trained actors, writers and directors afterward.
“In theater normally, if you try and go see someone backstage, you have to wait in a queue and you're pushed out the way and nobody lets see the actors,” Fullbrook says. “We offer aVIP experience of being able to talk to the actors and creative team afterward. And quite often, we end up being asked to join the party, which is really fun. We always joke that we could be professional party guests for hire.”
Revels in Hand is composed of some of the best actors, writers and directors in the industry.
A true VIP experience is one that is luxurious yet you still feel comfortable and in control, which is exactly how the Revels team executes their performances. Theater tends to have a stuffy connotation—it’s the idea that you have to sit silently, put your phone away and stay put for the duration of the play. On the contrary, a Revels in Hand show is in your onefinestay home, so they encourage the audience to behave as they would at home.
“If you want to get up and fill up your glass of Champagne, get up and fill up your glass of Champagne,” Eaton says. “What I find really moving is when you get the feeling that we've managed to disarm the audience to the point that they are so comfortable, and they aren’t behaving as they would in the theater.”
Vacations are for making memories, experiencing new things and enjoying yourself to the fullest. This partnership creates an environment that allows for all of this—combining the luxury and ease offered in a onefinestay villa with the unexpected and exciting nature of a private Revels in Hand performance.
Set the stage on your next onefinestay vacation at onefinestay.com, and learn more about Revels in Hand at revelsinhand.com.
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