I never really considered there being a time in my life when I would be running through the streets of Dublin, screaming at the top of my lungs whilst being chased by bad guys from my favourite book series – and yet on Saturday, September 27th, there I was, one of 250 fans scrambling through Dublin city centre pursued by some pretty convincing (and terrifying) role-players.
Theatre of Shadows was an interactive role-playing game for fans of the hugely successful Skulduggery Pleasant series, whose ninth and final book, The Dying of The Light, was released on August 28th. Thousands of remote operatives worldwide were able to take part in the event online, as well as 250 live operatives. I was one of those lucky enough to take part, and what an adventure it was.
The event began at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin’s city centre, where I arrived to a long queue of excited operatives of all ages waiting to be registered and sorted into teams, before plunging into the world of the books. Here, I met up with friends that I’ve made through the series, who travelled from England just for the event. This only scratches the surface of the devotion from fans – I’ve taken eight flights, several trains and an enormous amount of buses in the name of Skulduggery Pleasant, but fans have travelled from as far as France, Estonia and even America to celebrate the series coming to an end. The dedication to the series has been tremendous.
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We were placed in Team E, and before long we were led to a large room where two operatives from the Irish Sanctuary, the secret magical government in the books, greeted us. They, like all the role-players we met that day, were fantastic and had all the other operatives buzzing with energy as they briefed us on our mission: solve the clues around Dublin, left to us by Silas Nadir, a serial killer and villain of the series; save his victim Suzy Pierce; and rescue the series’ heroes, Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain. We were taught some attack and defence moves before pouring out onto the streets to begin our mission.
We encountered characters and clues along the way at some amazing locations, such as the Long Room of Trinity College library, where we were, as expected, greeted by a librarian. What wasn’t expected, however, was the vampire and the harpist that accompanied her. There was running, there was screaming, there was a man dressed as a troll at Isolde’s Tower...needless to say, we received some rather confused looks from members of the public who happened to stumble upon the crowds of operatives listening intently to characters discussing inter-dimensional glyphs.
The event ended, in true Skulduggery Pleasant style, with an epic battle and a lot of screaming. After discussing clues and letters with characters throughout the city centre, the teams were led back into the depths of the Smock Alley Theatre. Armed with nothing but laser-pointers, our recently-honed defence moves and nine books’ worth of fight-scene knowledge, we descended down metal ramps into a dimly-lit basement, shrouded in smoke and green light, to fight Remnants – recurring villains of the series. I’ve got to admit, I was more than a bit terrified at the thought of a Remnant jumping out of the smoke and grabbing me, and I was glad to see I wasn’t the only operative clutching my laser-pointer like I wished it could do considerable damage.
The Remnants were quickly upon us, but they were no match for 250 highly-skilled and immensely excitable operatives, so the battle was dramatic but quick. After some rapturous cheering in celebration, we moved through to a darkened room where the event came to a climactic conclusion with the saving of Suzy Pierce, the rescue of Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain. There was even the shocking discovery of a traitor within the Irish Sanctuary who was defeated through the hard work of the other operatives.
It was playful, it was engaging, it was a well-concealed form of cardio – I doubt anyone present is going to forget sprinting through Temple Bar like our lives and the lives of our favourite fictional characters depended on it. The eclectic mix of fans and role-players alike made for a lively and memorable experience.
The event was a fantastic way to bring the fans together to celebrate the release of the final book. The series, which has been going since 2007, was absolutely brought to life through the hard work of the role-players, all those at Harper Collins, and Derek Landy himself.
We were truly spoilt during and after the event. Following the excitement of the battle, we were greeted by smiling members of Harper Collins with Skulduggery-themed swag and the opportunity to meet Derek Landy, who arrived wearing his infamous black shirt and a grin, to sign books and spend time with fans.
The Theatre of Shadows was an imaginative and hugely satisfying celebration of a life-changing seven years of Skulduggery Pleasant. The books are filled with wonder and sorcery and adventure, where magic is when skeletons talk and people throw fire. But the opportunity for fans to immerse themselves in a world they had read about and loved for years, and to embrace their inner Skulduggery Pleasant character?
That’s a different kind of magic.
