The Setting
The Bard's Tale takes place at The Bard's House: it's a physical representation of the world where Shakespeare's characters have been living since they were first conceived by their author. It acts as a alternate plane of existence, where not all the rules of the real world apply. The characters have been living at the Bard's House forever, and nobody has ever stopped being their Roles. In fact, some of the Thespians might remember the author molding them, and giving them life... but that was a very, very long time ago.
Time doesn't flow the same way in The Bard's House as it does in the world where you are being read, which allows the Thespians to change, and slowly their Roles may begin to change with them... In fact, all of our Thespians and Roles are molded by the ways they have been read and perceived in the past, which means you might have a punk-rock Puck or a Southern Belle Juliet. And now that the characters have gained consciousness, who knows what might happen?
The Characters
You will take on the role of a Thespian, that is in turn playing a Role in one of the plays. Your Thespian is your original, dynamic character, and their Role might be Hamlet. You've played Hamlet always, but will develop your own dynamic life outside of that.
These Thespians live in The Bard's House - a physical manifestation of the world where these characters have been living since they were first conceieved by their author.
We currently have Roles from the following plays (subject to change):
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Hamlet
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Henry IV
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Henry V
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Macbeth
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Merry Wives of Windsor
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Midsummer Night's Dream
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Much Ado About Nothing
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Romeo and Juliet
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The Taming of the Shrew
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The Tempest
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Twelfth Night
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Winter's Tale
NOTE: Should you wish to be a Thespian with a Role from another play - there will be space to suggest that on the casting form. We will do our best to accommodate requests.
In The Bard's House, a Thespian's gender and the gender of their Role might not necessarily be aligned. Perhaps the character was initially conceived as a man but became a woman over the course of history or with the shifting of culture. An example is the character Conrad from Much Ado About Nothing, as Conrad was played by actor Richard Clifford (Much Ado About Nothing, 1993) and also by actress Riki Lindhome (Much Ado About Nothing, 2012).
Costuming & Aesthetics
In the timeless world that the Thespians live, they have been read through every iteration of their Role's play imaginable. Romeo has been portrayed in everything from a doublet to a unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt. And that means that costume choices are entirely up to you!
There's no required style or era, and no need to match other players. Whether you choose period-accurate, modern, theatrical, whimsical, or even cyberpunk, it’s all valid—as long as it fits your interpretation of your Role and Thespian. You’ll receive suggestions tailored to your character to help inspire your look, but nothing is mandatory. A great default? Think afternoon wedding attire—elegant but comfortable.
As an example here are some different representations from Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing:
Schedule
The Bard's Tale is a 2-Day LARP where play starts Friday evening and ends Saturday evening. A detailed schedule will be released closer to the event, but the following is a tentative schedule. The Bard's Tale runs continuously from 'Game In' after dinner and workshops on Friday through to end-of-play sometime after Dinner on Saturday. Rooms will be considered off-game, and a quiet period will be enforced from 1am to 8 am.
Breakfast is in included with your ticket on Sunday, and players do not have to be off-site until 1pm.
The schedule is as follows:
Wednesday, April 8th / Friday, April 10th:
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Arrival in the afternoon
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Afternoon workshops
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OOC Dinner @ 5pm
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Final workshops and getting into costume
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Play begins (game off around midnight)
Thursday, April 9th / Saturday, April 11th:
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IC Breakfast @ 9am
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IC Lunch @ 12pm
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IC Dinner @ 6pm
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Game off in evening (by 10pm)
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Afterparty
Friday, April 10th / Sunday, April 12th:
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Breakfast @ 8-9am
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Pack up and leave by 1pm