Our research LARPs explore and test the local and global consequences of advanced technologies for human and more-than-human interests.

The Treaty of Finsbury Park 2025 is a 5 year event series played from more-than-human perspectives for the blooming of a bountiful biodiversity and interspecies political action.

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The Scenario

If colonial systems of dominance and control over living beings continue we all face an apocalypse. All the species of the park have risen up to demand equal rights with humans. A treaty will be drawn up, designating these rights, but first humans must learn to better relate to non-humans so they can cooperate better together. Thankfully there has been a new invention – The Sentience Dial – which allows humans to tune into all the flora and fauna of Finsbury Park. 

The Game

The Treaty of Finsbury Park 2025 is a collaborative project that depicts the story of the dawning of interspecies democracy. It’s a new era of equal rights for all living beings, where all species come together to organise and shape the environments and cultures they inhabit, in Finsbury Park (and urban green spaces across the UK, the world, and beyond!) Like many urban parks, Finsbury Park is fraught with environmental issues from noxious gasses and traffic noises to governance struggles and financial sustainability.

The Treaty of Finsbury Park 2025 is played from more-than-human perspectives. Players act as Mentor Species of the Park and help change the way we all see and participate in our local urban green spaces forever. There are 3 parts to the story

• Part 1 – 2022 The Assemblies Games – online assemblies to plan the Interspecies Festival of Finsbury Park 2023 – an event to celebrate the drawing up of the treaty itself.
• Part 2 – 2023 The Interspecies Festival of Finsbury Park for ALL the species of Finsbury Park – As the songs of lament, celebration and protest finish their last chorus it is time to decide together with our new Mentor Species what should go into the Interspecies Treaty of Finsbury Park.
• Part 3- 2024 The collaboratively written Treaty promotes the priorities and feelings of all species and is displayed with Festival highlights. Park lovers sign and pledge action for bountiful biodiversity!

Characters

For the Assemblies and Festivals humans tune into all flora and fauna of the park. A recent invention – The Sentience Dial – matches humans to the species mentor they are most naturally aligned with and allows them to move and speak as that species and represent them in the games. Based on extensive research and with the help of local experts including Finsbury Park’s own Park Ranger, Ricard Zanoli, 7 Finsbury Park species were identified that could represent the wider biodiversity of the park. They are The Dogs, The Stag Beetles, The Bees, The Canada Geese, The Grass, The Squirrels, and The London Plane Trees.

Players

People join this immersive role-play, exploring the park in fantastical new ways as one of the Mentor Species of Finsbury Park….Transforming into another species with new eyes, ears and totally new priorities. Both the Assemblies and the Festival events are suitable for mixed groups of 20-30 players. Festivals are suitable for ALL human people over the age of 9 and mixed age groups seem to flourish especially. Valuable to play in all Treaty games are people with a desire to strengthen their connection to the lives of their local green spaces, growers, migrants and refugees, community organisers, environmental activists, artists, local government workers, natural and social ecosystems researchers, policy-makers, ethical business, and corporate social responsibility.

The Interspecies Festival of Finsbury Park 2023 Film by Tracy Kiryango

What players say 

“When I was talking with the trees [as a dog], even though I was talking using my words, I had a sense that I was talking from a part of myself that was less human to a different part of themselves as trees. They were calm beings, and I felt “less wise”.” Interspecies Festival participant

“I feel differently about the park now. The old forest part was new to me. Beautiful with a sense of intimacy and a spirit that made me want to linger there. I also felt I could experience the park from a different, less human perspective, feeling more at one with the other trees, especially the planes.”

“It really made me think about the impact humans have on the park environment”

“ I’m more aware of the different environments within the park and of the relationship between different species”

Outputs

• A 5 year event series played from more-than-human perspectives to encourage the blooming of a bountiful biodiversity and interspecies political action
• Cade Diehm and Ruth Catlow (2019) Concept Paper for The Treaty of Finsbury Park 2025. New Design Congress, Berlin.
• The Treaty of Finsbury Park – LARP website. Furtherfield  
• Art, Play and the Imagining of New Worlds. Frontiers of Commoning. A Podcast hosted by David Bollier. 2022
• Izzy Rowley, Now we know how trees in the park feel! Role-play festival calls for plants and animals to have the same rights as humans. Friday, 16th June 2023. The Islington Tribune
• Ann Light (2023) In Dialogue With The More-Than-Human: Affective Prefiguration in Encounters With Others. Interactions Journal, ACM 
• Becoming A Stag Beetle! Living The Interspecies Treaty Of Finsbury Park. Accidental Gods Podcast hosted by Manda Scott. Episode #190. 2023
• Ann Light, Lara Houston, and Ruth Catlow (2023) Intimate Translations: Transforming the Urban Imagination, in “Designing More-than-Human Smart Cities — Beyond Sustainability, Towards Cohabitation.” Eds. Dr Rachel Clarke, Dr Sara Heitlinger and Prof. Marcus Foth, Oxford University Press
• Tracy Kiryango (2023) Interspecies Festival of Finsbury Park Film
• Ruth Catlow and Charlotte Frost (2024) Interspecies Organising: LARPing for Bountiful Biodiversity Born of Interspecies Political Action, in “An Encyclopedia of Radical Helping”. Ed. Erin Segal. Thick Press LLC, US .

Credits

Directed by Ruth Catlow
Based on an original concept by Ruth Catlow and Cade Diem
Co-Authored by Ruth Catlow and Charlotte Frost
LARP design and hosting Ruth Catlow with Bea Xu and Max Dovey
Research Dr Lara Houston and Prof Ann Light
Illustration Sajan Rai
Digital marketing and communications Charlotte Frost
Festival activity programme design by participants of The Interspecies Assemblies 2022
Multispecies Choir leader Xenia Davis
Multispecies Movement consultant Lucy Suggate
Multispecies Costume consultant Kat Addis
Outreach, Care and Accessibility Manager Lekey Leideker
Access Angels MyPlace Finsbury Park with Alesha, Emily, Jason, and Nuria

Songs
Music by Matt Catlow
Lament lyrics by Ruth Catlow
Protest lyrics by Ruth Catlow
Celebration lyrics by Max Dovey
All songs inspired by The Multispecies Assemblies 2022

Videography Tracy Kiryango
Visual design for Treaty of Finsbury Park Cade Diem
Special Thanks to Eileen Egerton, Kate Genevieve, Ricard Zanoli and ALL our amazing players!

Support and Funding

The Treaty of Finsbury Park 2025 is a major project led by Furtherfield exploring new ways to build empathy pathways to non-human lifeforms through play. Beginning in 2020 and spanning 5 years, the work was originally developed in a collaboration with The New Design Congress. The first 3 years were supported by CreaTures (Creative Practices for Transformational Futures). It has since grown with the expert and imaginative input of hundreds of participants, and with support and funds from Arts Council England and Haringey Council.

The CreaTures project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 870759. The content presented represents the views of the authors, and the European Commission has no liability in respect of the content.