Hellenic Museum, Melbourne — July 2024.
Mysterion: Descent Into Hades was a four-hour live-action role-play experience staged inside the Hellenic Museum in July 2024, designed and directed by Medusa RPG in partnership with the Museum's public programming team. Attracting nearly 300 participants across two nights, including children and adults of diverse backgrounds, Mysterion brought visitors into direct, embodied contact with the collection rather than viewing it from behind glass.
“Over four hours, participants explored the museum, interacted with gods and heroes, undertook quests and puzzles, and worked to resolve the divine conflict while uncovering secrets of immortality…
Beyond ‘learning without realising they were learning’, Mysterion allowed audiences an engagement with the past that was immersive, interactive, emotional, authentic and embodied…
…an example of how a LARP can be successfully executed in a museum, and what immersive play based programming can do for museums, as well as their audiences.”
- Tobias Fulton
Education and Public Programming Officer
The Hellenic Museum
JULY 5th + 13th
The Medusa Society is recruiting initiates and preparing to perform a ritual that will dissolve the boundary between worlds, in the hopes of stealing the secrets of immortality!
Little do they know their ritual has interfered with an argument between Hades, ruler of the underworld and his wife, Persephone, who is bound to his dreary domain for six months of every year. As winter approaches, Hades has grown lonely and impatient for her impending return, but Persephone is hesitant to leave her family and wishes that she could once again live in the sweet, eternal summer of Olympus.
With the boundary between mortal and immortal worlds blurred, initiates will have four hours to resolve this crisis between Hades and Persephone, while helping the Society to uncover the secrets of life, death and immortality.
Player Testimonials
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"I love museums, but wow you guys really raised the bar! The actors were amazing, the research was so incredibly deep and the story super engaging. You completely brought to life a world that has only ever existed in books and in my head. Thank you so much and I can’t wait for the next one!"
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" It was so enchanting. I’m very keen for more.”
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“I was an initiate at Mysterion on Friday night and I just wanted to thank you for putting on such an incredible event. I’ve had a love of Greek Mythology since my teens. Being able to indulge [in] it and immerse myself in something like this was a dream come true and made all the more wonderful by it being held at the Museum itself!"
Credits
Medusa RPG
Co-Director and Experience Design Leads: Sandy Whittem & Jack Nolan
Experience Designer and Props: Fyodor Krasniy
Experience Designer: Caitlin Finnerty
Experience Designer: Will Ackroyd
Experience Designer: Nellie Seale
Stage Manager: Celina Mack
Sound Tech: David Williams
Game Master: Joe Jackson
The Hellenic Museum
Event Co-Producer and Historical Adviser: Tobias Fulton
Museum Director: Sarah Craig
Marketing, Communications and Design Manager: Lily Hawkins
Skyship Studios
Lead Costume Design and Coordinator: Sámhlaoch Swords
Costume Designer & Technician: Anna Mooy
How can I contact you?
Josiah Lulham, Sandy Whittem, Jack Nolan, Tess Monash (5 July), David Harris (13 July), Jess Lu, Jett Chudleigh, Joe Jackson, Callum Stewart Grant, Tim Sneddon, Frazer Shepherdson, Hugo Gutteridge, Lake Majstorovic, Chris McComb, Sámhlaoch Swords, Tang (Caitlyn) Finnerty, Fyodor Krasniy, Nick Wolf, Davey Seagle, & Anna Mooy
Media
Photography: Kate Cameron
Videography: Teddy Bardwell