On Display

By Betsy Isaacson

Players: 6

Genre: Steampunk romance

The lovely, reclusive Lady Roksana remains as yet unmarried. Tonight, though, she’s opened her castle to the most eligible of the Empire’s nobility. It’s a curious thing: her party starts at dusk, and she says that she’ll choose a spouse by midnight. Of course, this has attracted the sort of people who are willing to risk life, livelihood, and reputation for the sake of making a grand romantic gesture. But tonight is not a night for romance alone. Each suitor has much cause to speak and scheme with his fellows. Secluded parties, after all, are where Empires rise and fall…

Outsize ambition, abhorrent obsession, and the mundanities of museum politics grind against mad science, threats of illegal sorcery, and a very ill-timed visit from the Emperor. Will the Lady Roksana’s party survive the chaos of its guests? And will the Lady Roksana herself manage to marry well? Or ever?

On Display is a comedy of courtship set during an Age of Wonder that never was – dinosaur bones have just been found in the ground, clockwork automatons are all the rage, and mad science butts heads with political pragmatism. The conclusion of that tale is up to you.

Six participants are required, as well as an out-of-character Orchestrator to manage and oversee the experience. Four players become Lady Roksana’s suitors – solicitous, absurd and occasionally sinister. Of the two remaining players, one becomes the Lady’s spunky baseborn sister, and one becomes the Lady herself.

The game lasts for ninety minutes, and is guaranteed to be packed with romance and courtly intrigue.

Cost: $US10

Available from: http://www.paracelsus-games.com/theatrical-experiences/on-display

Previous NZ runs

Wellington 2016