Just a Little Lovin'

The 1970s have been a decade of women’s liberation, youth rebellion, anti-war protests and sexual promiscuity. The early 1980s are time of a resurgent conservative movement, with President Ronald Reagan as its sunny face. Gay men are migrating to New York to become part of the vibrant and hedonistic scene in Greenwich Village. Unknown to everyone, however, the HIV virus has started spreading in the city. An article in the New York Times described a mysterious “gay cancer”, but its cause remains still unknown...

Three years of the 4th of July

Two groups of friends celebrate the 4th of July in upstate New York: Mr T’s very gay 4th of July party, and the close-knit friendship circle formed by the Saratoga cancer survivors.

We play three 4th of July parties: 1982, 1983, and 1984. Each morning after breakfast there is an act break, where we find out what happens to the characters and their relationships during the following year; and then the next act starts a year later in the story.

When the larp starts, neither the players nor the characters know who will become infected by the virus; but the lives of all the characters will be deeply affected by the epidemic.

Our goal for the larp is that all the characters will have friendships that are important to them; will experience a little bit of lovin’ at the summer parties; and will feel the fear of death as people around them start to become infected.

AIDS & cancer

Two most feared diseases of modern times before Covid represent fear of death. The larp aims to describe the development of the AIDS outburst, and its impact on gay and other communities. The story is not aiming to be historically correct and so is compressed to depict the course of the epidemic, which took place over 6-9 years, and distilled down into three meaningful acts.

What you can expect

About the larp

SETTING: former Saratoga rehabilitation center, upstate New York, 4th of July 1982, 1983, 1984

GENRE: drama, slice of life

LANGUAGE: English

PLAYERS' NUMBER: 56-70

PLAYERS' AGE: 18+ (considered legal adults in the light of Polish law)

DATES: TBA

LOCATION: TBA

PRICE: TBA

The ticket price includes

participation in JaLL larp and pre-game workshops;

a detailed character with a backstory, motivations and character connections;

scenography and necessary props, access to basic make-up materials;

logistics and technical service, player support by JaLL crew;

5 nights in a shared room at the location, exclusively booked for the larp;

pre-game dinner, 3 meals a day during the game and off-game breakfast the day after;

photos from the larp and in-game portrait of your character taken by a professional photographer.

The ticket price does not include accident insurance and transportation to the larp site. If there’s interest, we will arrange a shuttle from Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport (GDN) for an additional fee.

Feel a little lovin'

Join the acclaimed nordic larp about the AIDS crisis in New York in the 80s. Experience friendship, desire and fear of death.

check out the larp guide & available characters

decide if the larp themes and genre suit you

we will update everyone when the dates are set

Read the larp guide

JaLL larp is planned for 56-70 people and each run will only be able to take place if we reach this number of applications. Otherwise, the event will be cancelled.

How gay is this larp?

When AIDS came to the Western world in the 80s, the gay community was hit more severely than most other sectors of society. This larp reflects that in the story we want to tell, the narrative circles around homosexual life, and death. Some characters belong to a vibrant lesbian scene and many of the characters representing “Alternative America” in the Saratoga friends group are not entirely heterosexual.