Fairweather Manor

These might be the most anticipated photographs I’ve created this year. And unfortunately also ones with the longest delivery time – but that wasn’t intentional. There was not enough time and I didn’t want to hurry my work at the cost of losing quality. Also, my visit to Paris Photo exhibition during the Paris terror attacks didn’t add to the speed of my work.

Fairweather Manor is a larp made by a Polish-Danish team. A team that created the Harry Potter larp College of Wizardrya year ago, which got quite a lot of attention by media around the world. Yes, this game also took place in Poland, at a castle called Moszna (different castle than Collega of Wizardry).

It almost looks like most of larps in Poland take place on castles – see Geas: Burgkon Drugi that I’ve visited three years ago.

This game is inspired by the TV show Downton Abbey and it’s situated to England, to the year 1914. A lot of guests are coming for the big anniversary of the Lord of the Manor.

When I’ve first heard about this game and seen the promo video they made – well it looked almost like visiting a spa a hundred years ago… But it was actually pretty amazing, the genius loci of the place and all those costumes and basically everything; it was much more than visiting spa.

It seemed that most of those one hundred and forty larpers completely merged with their roles of visiting guests and servants. Already during the first evening I’ve heard discussions about filling up glasses: How the servants wouldn’t pour the wine at the table, because they’re not experienced enough with the pouring from carafes and couldn’t afford to stain anyone’s clothes.

I must say that I’ve seen about four episodes of Downton Abbey and it really didn’t grow on me. But this game, it captured me so much that I’m already looking forward to spending three hundred fifty euro and all that time to get all the necessary costumes and equipment for the game next year.