Inside Hamlet is living theatre and an immersive game, staged in the tradition of Nordic larp.

​

 

Inside Hamlet is an intense and accessible live-action roleplaying experience, faithful in plot and spirit to Shakespeare’s legendary play. It does not require any previous experience of role-play or participatory theatre.

​

​

"Though this be madness, yet there is method in't."

Hamlet Act 2, scene 2

​

You will spend the weekend – Friday at 13.00 through to Saturday just after midnight – with a hundred other participants living the tragedy of Hamlet as a member of the court of king Claudius. You will be playing a character written for this work to fit into the Hamlet story.

​

All characters’ journeys emotionally echo that of the doomed prince, and the story will end like the play does. Beyond that, you control your character’s actions fully. You can choose to work towards their goals, to give up, or waver; to be loyal to their friends and family or betray them; to sink into decadence or try to save yourself. At the end, if your character has not fallen to the escalating violence already, you will choose whether they deserve to live or die.

 

The larp has three acts, one on Friday and two on Saturday. Before each act there is a workshop, where we will practice the simple and intuitive interaction mechanics and learn more about the story. The three acts all have a theme – Decadence, Deception and Death – and the dramatic interaction rules are subtly different in each to easily create the corresponding atmosphere and actions.

 

As preparation for this experience you will need to read some brief information letters about the fictional world and your character description. In addition, you are responsible for preparing your character’s costume. We also recommend you either read the play or watch a movie adaptation of Hamlet between now and the dates of the larp.

​