Larkin' About


Larkin’ About is excited to be bringing a flurry of playful events to this year’s Hazard.

Players will be chasing and racing, searching and collecting, and code-breaking and puzzle-solving in a series of games around St Ann’s Square. Bring stealth, energy, and a sense of play.

LABOLIS by UltraViolets

A secret is submerged at the heart of the city. Be transformed into a riddle solver, clue seeker and urban archaeologist for LABOLIS, a short inner city mystery. Don your finest thinking cap and make sure all your senses are sharpened as a long forgotten “missing persons” is unravelled around St Ann’s Square.

Mixtape by Vee Uye

Mixtape is a retro-audio treasure hunt with a soundtrack that takes you around St Ann’s Square and into the puzzle of our hearts. Players navigate the space with analogue personal stereos and augment the narrative with their own memories.
Mixtape n: a compilation of favourite pieces of music, typically by many different artists, recorded on to tape or another medium by an individual.

Spy School by Jana Wendler

So you want to be a spy? You want hidden microphones, shadowy meetings, secret codes and the occasional car chase, plane jump and “surprise encounter” with a red-haired mysterious Russian actress / an athletic model-turned-special agent (choose according to preference)? Well, forget all that. This is Spy School, and it’s back to the beginnings, my friend. Can you sneakily mark your opponents? Can you even figure out who is on your team? We will find out in this test of observation and sublimity. Only the best will be allowed to continue… @janawendler

Hacked Off! by Larkin’ About

“Our intentions were good, our intentions were honourable.”Paul McMullan, Former News of the World journalist

Hacked Off! sees players chase a series of phone calls in a frenzied search for fragments of hidden information. Competing for work at an unscrupulous paper, players are cast as Private Investigators and set out to find and reveal sensitive information, whilst remaining discreet to ensure stories of dishonourable behaviour don’t get pinned to them by fellow players. In the light of the UK’s Phone Hacking scandal, Hacked Off! is a playful reflection on what and who can and cannot be trusted, and the nature of information in the public realm.

Not An Elephant by Jess Jackson

You are an elephant. No, really. You are. But it’s a secret. You must admit this to NO ONE, least of all The Hunter. An allegorical, inconspicuous social game of wits, lies, deceit, keeping your cool and avoiding a Mouse.

Reinventing Manchester’s playtime, Larkin’ About hosts a series of gaming events throughout the year. If you see a covert phone call taking place, a giddy team of players sneaking past, or an unsuspecting member of the public on a tour of the secret side of the city - you’ve found us! @larkinmcr

Larkin' About