Abstract
This thesis examines the practice of live action roleplay (larp) in terms of the distributions of power, agency and authority that inhere to it. It asks how experiences and stories are constituted in larping through collaborative participation, and what representations of Others’ experiences have to do with their grounds. It addresses these concerns by developing an autoethnographic methodology that utilises practical experiences of larping in analysing the political relationships that become between the player and both their co-players and those whose experiences they represent through their play. This analysis uses aspects of Whitehead’s philosophy of organism as a theoretical framework. The research therefore constitutes a practice-led theoretical study into the politics of playing together and of playing the lives of Others. The thesis argues for an interpretation of larping as a ‘methektic’ performance paradigm as well as a practice of ‘listening’ to the experiences of Others.
Practically, the thesis investigates my experiences of playing in four international larps: La Sirena Varada, College of Wizardry, Inside Hamlet and Legion: Siberian Story. In each case study I look at a different aspect of participation and representation. Firstly, I look at how my experiences are constituted through my togetherness with other players; secondly, how dramaturgy and its playful counterpart, ludaturgy, affect experiences of roleplaying and story-making; thirdly, whether the representation of extreme experience as experience is possible; and finally, whether larped experience can foster empathy with historical others. Through these analyses, the thesis suggests that the most valuable insights larping offers come from participation in the practice rather than the representation of characters and actions, and that participation supersedes representation as a mode of engagement in this practice.