I’VE BEEN engrossed watching the new TV series “Years and Years”, a dystopian drama on HBO set in the not-too-distant future which stars Emma Thompson as a UK politician rising up the ranks. It features a world where Trump has been re-elected and now refuses to leave office and has launched a nuclear missile on China. A place where people actually wear emojis on the heads and have checked out of society altogether.
Created by Russell T. Davism (the man responsible for Queer As Folk and rebooting Dr. Who), Years and Years is hugely uncomfortable to watch, yet it’s truly fascinating that maybe, just maybe this look into the bleak future might help us rectify and put a stop to what could be possible.
Last weekend I attend my first LARP (Live Action Role Play) event “Twin-Mask” – not as a participant but as an observer, and boy, if you need to shake off the s**t happening in the world and simply check out, this might be the place for you. The website’s blurb gives you just a hint of what this immersive experience has to offer, saying: “Welcome to Twin Mask….where sorcery is feared and creatures of myth have faded into seclusion. Here, in the heart of “Tear” – a recently discovered continent, characters from all backgrounds will be called back from death and be forced to band together in order to survive and make sense of the world around them.”
I mean, how could I say no to that? What I found was a world where wizards and warlocks mix with Vikings and Jedi knights. Damsels in distress, pirates, half-wolves and centaurs, witches and wenches all mix in. Fighting by day (think freeze spells met with soft giant battle axes) and poems and singing by night. And I’m sure in the nearby camping area some drinking and frolicking were taking place.
Some people like video games, but this is a place where people of different shapes and sizes, colors and gender all come together to interact in a human (sort of) world, not a virtual one. Some might even be trans-human for a weekend. Where the action takes place in front of your eyes, not on a screen.. And why not, however you identify, right? I have to say those previously called dorks and weirdos are probably the ones having most fun right now, and who can blame them?
And to be quite honest I think I might join them in the next one. Just to say “As You Wish” from the Princess Bride. Yes okay I’ve already thought about my character. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.
For those interested LARP takes place once a month in Orange County. Visit www.twinmask.com for more information.
Till next time!
Craig
