Community, absurdist, agency

Designer: Alex Brown

Number of participants: 6–12

Duration: 3 hours

The presenter feels that this larp IS suitable for young people aged 16+

About the larp

Do objects feel lost, if anything at all? Can they belong if they have no-one to belong to? Stuck in an absurdist and mundane limbo, this larp explores what it’s like to be lost property. All characters in Lost and Found are based on inanimate objects and it explores the idea that lost property items, from the moment they are forgotten, become sentient. After the initial shock of being left behind in a dusty train station, they start to organise and realise that maybe it’s possible to live without their owners.

Characters will explore how to build a community and ride the tensions that might accompany it, and confront the contemplation of their own egos.

Players will also play their objects’ owners in some flashback scenes. Most of the play will be narrative driven including small amounts of movement and physical contact.

Presented by

Alex Brown: I arrived at larp through situationist games and psychogeography and I’m having a look under the rock in between. I’m interested in the politics of play, larp as an act of resistance – particularly in urban settings.

Parameters

Physical contact	Light contact; touching hands or forearms
Romance and intimacy	Romantic themes but no player contact; e.g. discussion of romance, illicit glances
Conflict and violence	Themes of conflict, but not enacted by players; e.g. quiet threats and vengeful stares
Communication style	Lots of speech
Movement style	Walking
Characters	Players create their own characters, in a workshop
Narrative control	Players have some influence over story, but there is basically a script or structure that they’re within
Transparency	Fully transparent – players will, or at least can, know absolutely everything in advance
Representation level	The fictional space looks very unlike the play space, but players will use their imaginations
Play culture	Players are collaborating to achieve joint aims
Tone	Moderate

Sunday morning, Studio 1