To ‘set Europe ablaze’ was the remit of a brand-new organisation, rubber stamped by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill himself after the fall of France and the low countries in the summer of 1940.
In spite of the threat that “any active or passive resistance to the German armed forces would incur the most severe of retaliatory measure”, Special Operations Executive (SOE) was set up with the sole aim of sabotage and subversion of the enemy and their war efforts.
SOE set up sections right across Occupied Europe – France, Belgium, Norway, Yugoslavia, Denmark, The Netherlands, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland…even into the Far East. Following an intensive training programme that included silent killing, parachuting and instinctive shooting, men and women were employed by SOE. They operated as weapons experts, saboteurs, wireless operators and couriers, and with a life expectancy of six weeks they harried the enemy through their activities. They blew up train lines and factories, produced false propaganda, underground newspapers and in some instances even assassinated high ranking German officials.
The stakes were high, if caught, resisters were branded as ‘nacht und nebel’ (night and fog) and would simply disappear into the Nazi prison system. Agents were interrogated, tortured, incarcerated and even executed for the work they undertook as Allied Secret agents. They were the bravest of the brave.
Kate Vigurs, Author of Mission France: The True History of the Women of SOE
SOE: Resistance is a high-budget, immersive and interactive event inspired by the brave women and men who volunteered for dangerous duties in occupied Europe in World War 2.
This will be an immersive experience, recreating the emotions, tensions and physical experiences of ordinary men and women who had volunteered for extraordinary activity in wartime Europe. Specifically, we are looking to portray the last elements of training and evaluation for SOE candidates, leading to a decision on whether they are accepted as Agents and allocated to missions
Participants, known in our event as Players, will take on the roles of candidates from all over Europe, each seeking to play their part in bringing down the Nazi machine, as they undergo their final weekend of training and assessment. Participants will have pre-written character roles, which they will interpret much as an actor does in a film, and play that role immersively for 3 days and nights.
This event will focus both on the opportunity to take part in simulated training and the mental pressure and emotional, and moral, challenges facing ordinary men and women being selected for such deadly missions.
Just like the actual candidates who volunteered for SOE, you don’t need any experience to take part in our event. And just like them, you have the ability to attempt something new and challenging! If you are excited by the prospect of being immersed in history, taking on another role and fully committing to telling a great story – then we are interested in you! The event runs for three days and you will be expected to remain ‘in character’ for the most of that time, which may sound daunting but is very achievable. We will provide guidance and support for anyone who has doubts about their ability to ‘act’ their role or ‘react’ to others or indeed about any aspect of the event.
The event will have high production values, authentic costumes, equipment and vehicles, as well as lots of personal drama and a chance to experience an iconic aspect of WW2. There will be action, subterfuge, emotional plot and secrets.
SOE: Resistance will be inclusive, as was to some degree the original organisation, and our event will not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, physical disability or politics.
What is Live Action Role Playing?
You may have heard of, or participated in, events such as Secret Cinema or Punchdrunk’s ‘Burnt City’. The concept of immersion of audiences in theatre events is becoming increasingly popular as participants look for unusual and exciting experiences. These events blur the lines between the audience and the performance, and between linear storytelling and immersion inside an environment that contains many narratives. But fundamentally, these experiences still treat the audience as largely peripheral.
Our event goes further. We seek to involve our ‘audience’ entirely into the narrative and to allow them to a degree to shape the outcome of the event. These types of events are collectively termed Live Action Role-Playing (LARP).
LARP is a form of interactive, participatory storytelling where participants physically act out their characters’ roles within a fictional setting or scenario. LARP combines elements of improvisational theatre, gaming, and collaborative storytelling. It’s a unique and immersive experience that allows individuals to step into the shoes of their characters and engage in a wide range of activities, such as combat, diplomacy, problem-solving, and social interaction, all within the context of the event’s narrative.
What can I expect from this LARP?
There are many styles of LARP. Our style is to focus on the personal stories of our characters and the emotions and experiences they undergo.
Our event is very linear and will end fundamentally the same way every time. The three days spent at SOE Finishing School are about learning, evaluation and hopefully acceptance as full Agents. Whilst there may be references to wider historical themes and stories outside our frame of reference, there is no grand saving of the world or assassination of Hitler on this event. We believe that the actual experiences of SOE trainees were quite exciting enough to warrant a respectful exploration of what it took to undergo this training!
Fundamentally, the event is about the Players experiencing an immersive and intense process, hopefully a thrilling, emotional and educational one. It is about the way the characters emotionally react to this experience and to each other and perhaps come to terms with their own demons or create new perspectives. We encourage the Players to create change in their characters by the end of the event.
No Player will end the event prematurely or have a scripted ending they have not opted into the possibility of occurring (or have chosen themselves). Character death or injury will only occur if Players choose that for themselves and we would discourage that eventuality.
What does this LARP expect from me?
In this event, there may well be codes to decipher, vehicles to blow up, old adversaries to confront and secrets to hide or discover. And generally speaking, the characters will be trying their best to make a good impression and do the best they can. However, in all these cases, there is no ‘one’ good solution, path or choice to make. Whilst the code will or won’t be broken as a matter of fact, the consequences of the result won’t derail the event for either the overall story or the particular Player. And often ‘failure’ has complex and interesting results!
We encourage our Players to tackle these situations as their characters would, rather than themselves. And more than that, to do so with a wider consideration of telling the best story possible. It is NOT about playing the best hand in all cases. Sometimes taking a wrong turn, leading to tragic failure, loss, conflict or awkwardness, allows for the narrative to unfold. Sometimes going off alone into the dark woods leads to an ‘interesting’ experience….
Our guide would be ‘What choice will make for a better story – for the Player and for other Players’.
Clearly, in our specific event, the characters are trying to be accepted into SOE as a full agent. SOE School is a ‘competitive’ environment in the sense that characters can be judged as not competent or too irrational and this will lead to ‘failure’ in respect of passing the end assessment. And for the narrative to work, we will assume that most characters will pass and be allocated to missions. But it would be entirely appropriate for some Players to decide that they will ‘fail’ elements of the course or entirely go to pieces at some point. Perhaps they will overcome their ‘failure’ or perhaps they won’t – but how much more interesting than everyone on the course just sailing through! Players will embody characters that are multi-dimensional and have been written to have weaknesses and issues – embrace these.
Playing a role, particularly within a largely improvised group all playing roles, is about balance and generosity. It’s not always easy to judge whether a secret you have just learned should be shouted from the rooftops or taken with you to the grave (more on secrets later!). And if everyone decides they’re going spectacularly off the rails (particularly at the same time), then it all gets a bit unbelievable and the Movie goes straight to video!
Every time this event runs, the experience for individuals will be very different because the Players have such a huge influence on the tone and nature of the narrative.
Our Top Tips to helping us create the best event:
- Play your character to inspire others with your story but also to be a supportive witness, target, victim or villain in theirs.
- Allow space for others to play into but don’t be shy about your own contribution. Just like in real life, there is an ebb and flow to social interactions.
- Play your character faithfully to their history and motivations, not your own.
- Play to make choices that are authentic and make for the best drama, not necessarily the optimum result for you as a Player or your character. There is no winning!
- Play as if you are a creative collaborator, rather than a competitor in a race or a mere consumer of media.