About the Organisers

On this page, you will find contact details, information about Obscurus, the organisers, previous events, and testimonials by past participants.

Stichting Obscurus

‘The Baron of Belgrave Square’ is an event by Stichting Obscurus (a non-profit foundation). Wouter and Anne-Marieke are the organisers. Together and separately they have organised about 40 improvisation theatre events since 1994. Most of the events have similarities with Romanesque style or Content (prewritten characters with a shared history, with the goal of getting a lot of interaction, romance, intrigue and personal drama).

Anne-Marieke 

Anne-Marieke is a professional harpist, projectmanager and writer. She studied harp at the conservatory of Utrecht, starting at the early age of 11. She performed at many concerts, competitions and masterclasses. Next to this she has a Master’s degree in Psychology. Anne-Marieke worked several seasons with a professional theatre company touring most of the theatres in the Netherlands and Belgium.
 

She works at Utrecht University as a senior Project Manager. Anne-Marieke plays tabletop RPGs since 2000 and roleplays since 2002. She started organising events in 2011 and was also part of the team that organised Cry Havoc in 2016 and 2017 in the UK. She prefers historical and modern settings with lots of drama, romance and realism. 

Wouter 

Wouter is a graphic designer, illustrator and writer. In his free time he is a sound designer/musician. Since 1994 he organises events and is known for Barbaria (weekend events) and Hanna’s avonden (Hanna’s evenings). In 2008 and 2009 he was one of the refs at Vortex Adventures (one of the biggest mainstream events in the Netherlands, around 250-500 players per event). Board game fanatics also know him from his published board game: 'Land van Zoor' and his new game 'Epos' which is currently being designed. Next to this he has organised many tabletop sessions since 1991, based on his own tabletop system. Wouter prefers stories in which individual story arcs all come together in a delicate or ingenious way, leading to beautiful resolutions and drama for all involved.

The dark Gothic history of Belgrave

In 2020 their beloved project 'The Baron of Belgrave Square'  had to be cancelled due to the venue burning down right in the middle of the covid lockdown. After that, both organisers developed post covid syndrome which took quite a while to recover from. But now they’re back, fully up and running and they can’t wait to share many great ideas with players old and new, including this relaunch of the Belgrave project.

Testimonials

By players of previous Obscurus events

“This event not only got the big idea, but also the small details right. For me it is illustrated by the character description. It contains a wealth of information and hooks to play on, giving the player a lot of input and also freedom at the same time. All the nifty little details are in support of the bigger picture. Not only is that helpful in memorising everything, it also adds to the feeling that your character is central in their own story.” 

Sanne B.

“It was excellent. Really intense, but very safe. Great players, amazing organisers. Highly recommended.”

Elina G.

“Thanks for writing such good backgrounds/story and inviting such a good crew around you, taking care of people physically and mentally.”

Siebrand K.

“Anne-Marieke et Wouter merci pour ces jeux, pour votre univers et votre attention sans faille à la joueuse étrangère. J’espère pouvoir vous rendre la pareille.”

Josephine V.

“I normally only participate in fantasy larps. This was my first one in modern times. It was so cool. Never before have I found so many like minded people in a game. I had great emotional moments and very deep talks with other characters. I love fine theatrical play and found a lot of that in this game. Thanks very much to Anne-Marieke and Wouter for the many layered storylines and wonderful setting. Bravo!

Finally: Thank you to all players for the best event in my life. Special thanks to Anne-Marieke and Wouter for the beautiful character descriptions, excellent scenography/setting and personally helping me how to portray my character the best. You are really good writers and game designers, as far as I can tell the finest I know.”

Danny S.

“One moustache less and a few days on, this event keeps on playing in my head. The end was so incredibly sad. It deeply affected me, being fully immersed in my character. Take that, so called “family”. 

I don’t participate in any other events than Obscurus right now and I don’t feel like any others for now. Everything I can come up with and any other characters I encounter feel shallow in comparison to this weekend.”

Mark O.

“What a fabulous weekend! I admire the detailled, special, bizarre and somewhat frightening world that Wouter and Anne-Marieke created for us. It was a privilege to be a part of it. Players who aren’t afraid of intense play, details that fit, rules that support the game and an organisation that makes everything run smoothly.”

Karen W.

“Whoaaaa! Great! Yes that was very nice. High end roleplay, genius plot twists and a very realistic setting.  Everyone had loads of secrets and everyone shared them in the right way to make gameplay. Thanks everyone for making such a great game and special thanks to the organisation!”

Erik V.

“Cult was one of the best events I’ve been so far – great organisation, great players, great and intense stories, characters, scenes and play.”

Christine H.

“Cult was a hurricane of emotions from unfathomable horror to all-pervasive delight and I enjoyed each and every second of it.”

Olivia F.

“One for the top 10 events of the past 10 years.”

Engelbert S.

“Clearly this is one of these events you take with you forever.”

Joyce S.

“What an adventure. I find it difficult to find the right words, because this was one continuous flow of incredible play and very intense scenes.”

Melanie H.

“Thanks to Wouter and Anne-Marieke who know exactly how to grab people by the short and curlies.”

Nina M.