It is 1815; Napoleon has been defeated, and peace has been reached with the United States of America. Britain’s future looks bright. However, to the people who are about to move into their Mayfair houses for the London season, the state of the world matters very little. Instead, they are preparing for their personal futures to change forever as they consider whether to marry in the glitz and glam of yet another sparkling season.
Mayfair is the story of four families and a set of eligible young men and women. It follows the characters from just before the season and six weeks forward, ending with the final ball. It is a story of romance, young love, small struggles that feel like the end of the world, and big emotions that stay mostly hidden in public. However, though it is a larp about courting and marriage, it is just as much about friendship, family and hidden desires. What your character does will affect their families or close ones.
This larp tells an anachronistic story of a London Season in a fantasy regency era, taking part in a number of structured activities. Therefore, the real historical events of this time do not play a large part in the story. In its storytelling, it is similar to a TV drama, but one where all the important storylines are being filmed at the same time. On-screen, there would be extras filling out the backgrounds, but at the larp, these will be limited to a few crew members. After all, it doesn’t matter how many other people should be a part of society when you are playing the characters that matter.
Mayfair will be played in acts, and every day, there will be an off-game lunch, which will also serve as a calibration break. During each off-game break, a set amount of weeks will have passed, and in total, Act 0 to Act 3 spans over six weeks. One of the many liberties we have taken is to let the larp take place in autumn, and not just move the traditional season (spring/summer) by a few months but also significantly shorten it.
It is also split into two generations – the young generation and the parent generation. The parents will have relationship ties to each other in different ways and have their own plots within the group. They can get involved in scheming for their children’s matches but most of this game will be driven by the young people themselves. However, the parent generation characters that are heads of households will need to make themselves available in case someone wants to marry someone in their household, and as such will need to be somewhat informed as to what is happening. It’s important to remember that the parent generation are full characters, not NPCs.
The larp will be divided into acts, following this structure:
Act 0: The Masked Ball
Scenes: The Masked Ball (Allingham) & A Morning in London
The Masked Ball is a dance scene played on the first evening. Under the alibi of a mask, discover your character’s secret sides and who they truly are when not keeping up the pretence of polite society. Explore attraction, connections, and short-term inclinations. Nothing of what happens here will make its way to the gossip columns, and no one’s identity will be revealed during the larp. It is hosted by the Allingham family.
A Morning in London is a scene that takes place a few days after The Masked Ball. Everyone has spent a few days in London and gotten situated in their houses, but the season has not formally started yet. During the morning, the intentions for the season are set, and some close family friends might visit. This scene sets a sense of normality within the houses.
Act 1: Beginnings
Scenes: Afternoon in the Park, The Dinner Parties, The First Ball (Whitmore), Morning Calling Hours
During this act, the regular season activities will be presented, and we will play the first week of the season.
Afternoon in the Park will include chaperoned walks, the start of the endless cricket game, the tea rooms opening as well as the gentlemen’s club. This is a chance to be introduced to some new people and to explore the public sphere. The tea rooms will be a women’s only space, and the gentlemen’s club a men’s only space. It will also include the weekly gossip column coming out, containing saucy details about some of the characters.
The Dinner Parties represent three different dinners during the week. Between courses, gentlemen will switch places and have a new lady to sit next to. Fill up your dance cards and get to know prospective matches. For the parent generation, this is the time to reconnect, scheme, and start your own romance game.
The First Ball will be a chance to dance, flirt, and touch. Between dances, people might find their way to the gentlemen’s club, the card tables, and the gardens, or they might even leave the house to find their way to someone else’s home. It’s a time for love, romance, and lust to guide you, and to get carried away with your instincts. It is hosted by the Whitmore family.
Morning Calling Hours include breakfast with the family (or at the gentlemen’s club for those staying there) to fill each other in on the details of last night and to possibly warn people if there might be gossip coming out about them. After a set time, some of the young men are expected to leave the different houses to call on young ladies they are interested in courting, having tea and a conversation while being appropriately chaperoned. This is when the parent generation can see how their daughters have done socially during the night before.
Act 2: Hope and Love
Scenes: Afternoon in the Park, The Dinner Parties, The Garner Ball, Morning Calling Hours
This act is about exploring connections that have been formed, encountering conflicts and strife within relationships, and trying to do the best for the family. In this act, early attractions might fizzle out, and new ones might take their place. Perhaps a few people will get carried away by emotions and be found in a compromising position, leading to a crisis that needs to be contained.
The scenes are the same as in Act 1, but the ball is a later one in the season, hosted by the Garner family. During the morning calling hours, there is a possibility for a young man and woman to marry quickly if they have consent from the head of the household, to prevent a scandal.
Act 3: Endings
Scenes: Afternoon in the Park, The Dinner Parties, The Final Ball (Deveraux)
This act is about looking towards the future. If Act 2 has brought about any quick marriages, this is the time to explore those matches. If it has not, for the young people, it’s about pursuing romances, making choices, and seeing if you even wish to marry before the season is up. Perhaps making arrangements to continue a same-sex romance and trying to find a way of getting away with this. For the married couples, this might be the time to support one of your middle-aged friends as they try to find love again, and to support your children, or to explore your own future. The Final Ball will be hosted by the Deveraux family. It will start with all the currently engaged or married couples dancing, and after a few dances, end with declaring any new engagements.