Preview: The Habits

I saw the original production at Hampstead Theatre. I went with a friend who is a D&D player – not really sure what to expect – but what I found was a beautiful, gracious little play about friendship and grief… with a bit of gameplay for good measure! I loved the show and could just see it at SLT. Gameplay/D&D lend themselves very well to the stage!

Absolutely not. Not even one tiny bit. The characters in the show are new to the game as well so you learn along with them. If you can watch people play characters – which audiences do anyway – you can get into the game! That’s all the game is – role play acting!

A lot of the script is set round a game table. So we worked very hard to inject movement and physicality into the show whilst also allowing them to roll dice!

We also had to make sure any language we used was correct to the gaming rules and make sure we knew what they meant! My Assistant Director Oliver Adkin is a Dungeon Master, so he was always on hand to ask questions.

We also wanted to make sure any gameplay was accessible to audience that knew nothing about D&D, so we have leaned into the role play element and really had fun with the characters, so that it’s entertaining for the audience.

Jess (Phoebe Masters-Crutch), our school-age dungeon master is new to running games, and she is playing in Warboar, Dennis’ Board Game Cafe, with Maryn (Stephanie Riley) and Milo (Tom Mitchell), both in their twenties. You aren’t really sure why they are all playing together when they aren’t 100% sure of the rules, but it becomes apparent as the play progresses.

Bev (Debra Hensman) joins when she starts dating Dennis (Bob Callender), and just wants to play Monopoly!

The shared experience of coming together and playing a board game. We are stuck to our phones and social media at the moment, and what we see is five characters connecting, and exploring their emotions through imagination and role play. Maybe you might even get a taste for the game!

Nerdy group therapy! Hahaha, no seriously – fantasy, friendship and growth.