Two cultures live in neighbouring countries. Not friends and not enemies, each minding their own business. Then catastrophe hits one country forcing the inhabitants to flee and seek refuge among their foreign neighbours.

Strangers is an abstract larp, which uses physical methods such as sign language and simple movement routines to create two cultures and the feeling of belonging or not belonging to these. The larp is about refugees trying to fit in and about the people who they try to fit in amongst.

Difficulties can arise when different cultures meet on uneven terms.

Strangers is a blackbox LARP about immigration and refugees. Players explore the emotional experience of refugees and the people who they now must live among; one group feeling ownership over a country, the other trying to either fit in or create ways to maintain their own culture.

This is a heavily abstracted LARP with no pre-cast characters and during which the players do not speak. It consists of two hours of before-play (acting excerises and workshop with little to no speaking) to build character and culture, and one hour of play. There are no costumes required, but we suggest players wear comfortable blacks, and have a place to pin an item to their clothes. Players will need to move through the space, likely need to kneel or sit on the floor, express themselves with movement and gestures (rather than spoken words), and respond to audio cues.

This LARP was designed By Nina Runa Essendrop for Funen Art Academy. Nina Essendrop was also one of the designers of White Death – another very abstract game with a physical workshop that has run several times at Intercon and Festival of the LARPs

Strangers is an abstract larp which uses physical methods such as sign language and simple movement routines to create two cultures and the feeling of belonging or not belonging to these.

It aims to explore the situation of refugees trying to fit in, and the reactions among the people who they try to fit in amongst.

There is a full debrief during which participants are encouraged to discuss the way in which the game made them feel and what they got out of it. When I played it, I found it a fascinating insight into the issues raised by immigration and clash of cultures.

Content Warnings: There is no specific mention of the event that is causing people to leave their own country, but players may well experience feelings of isolation and alienation if they end up being refugees.

Costume (optional): No costume required, but black or neutral clothing that it is easy to move in recommended.

Presented by
Christi S (UK): Christi has been playing and running freeform style games for over 15 years.

Strangers is an abstract, physical larp about integration. Players play the inhabitants of two different countries with very different cultures. During the larp the people from one country has to flee their land and live in the other country, where they don’t know the language or the way to go about everyday life. The larp is non-verbal. It uses physical methods such as sign language and simple movement routines to create the two cultures and the feeling of belonging or not belonging to them. It explores the situation of refugees trying to fit in, and the reactions among the people who they try to fit in amongst.

To kulturer lever i hver deres land, som støder op til hinanden. De er ikke venner og ikke fjender, men passer hver især sig selv. Så indtræffer katastrofen, og det ene lands beboere må flygte og søge tilflugt hos deres fremmede naboer.

Fremmede er et abstrakt rollespil, som bruger fysiske metoder så som tegnsprog og simple bevægelsesrutiner til at skabe to kulturer og følelsen af at tilhøre eller ikke at tilhøre disse. Rollespillet handler om flygtninge og om det folk, som de prøver at passe ind iblandt.