Relapse

Alcoholism – Tragedy – Realistic Drama

Everything in our family revolved around Dad – whether he was healthy or sick, angry or happy. Everything could change in a moment. And I never knew when. And it didn’t matter how nice the day before had been. Dinner was always the worst time of day. There was no hiding or avoiding him then.

I named one of my teddies “Little Dad.” I tucked him in and read to him. I comforted him and held him tight when he was upset. I cooked him nice food and told him how much I loved him. And after a while, “Little Dad” recovered completely.

I quickly fell into in the role of the “little adult”. At four thirty, I went up to the bus to pick up Mom from work and give her a “weather report” as we called it. If he was sleeping, insane or just drunk. When Dad didn’t come home, Mom sent me out. I went from bar to bar and searched, sometimes late into the night. I only tell the funny stories because I am afraid of the others’ reaction.

When we had guests, I always had to kiss Mom and Dad goodnight. I guess it was supposed to look like an idyllic family. Sometimes we even started to doubt whether there really was something wrong. It was just the way it was.

Relapse depicts a family in the shadow of alcoholism. They don’t talk about it, it’s just a part of everyday life. The family covers it up, to others, each other and themselves. During the scenario the father’s alcoholism gets more and more out of control, and conflicts break out into the open.

Relapse is intense role playing focused on immersion and creating a powerful, moving story together. It is muted play, knowing looks and startling, violent outbursts of anger. It is scenes of shame, guilt and pity based on authentic accounts. It’s a scenario that gives players a free rein and suggests that players invest themselves in the game.

By: Max Møller
Duration: 4 hours
Number of players: 4

Download the scenario in Danish here.