Titania - Red Herring Games

We hope you enjoyed playing this Red Herring Games murder

mystery and will visit us again to try out our other games.

Red Herring Games have a collection of experienced authors,

who are continually producing new games for your enjoyment.

Red Herring Games are constantly on the look out for more

authors to add to our portfolio, giving you more choice.

10% OFF YOUR NEXT PURCHASE

Thank you for playing a Red Herring Game.

In order to receive a 10% discount on future

purchases simply enter code:

RHP2007

The next time you visit

www.Red-Herring-Games.co.uk

Titania

1

Congratulations! You are taking part in a murder mystery by

Red Herring Games.

A few simple instructions to help you along:

Firstly: Don’t Panic!

This booklet contains all the information you need as a guest to

help you act your part throughout the murder mystery party.

The first page provides you with additional background

information to help you get into character, however there are no

special acting abilities required and you can make as much or as

little of your character as you wish.

After that on each page you are given either something to read

out (dialogue), questions to ask, or information to help you

answer questions you will be asked. These questions and

answers are not intended to be read out word for word. Instead

read them, digest the information and then ask and answer any

questions in your own words. You are encouraged to ad lib, but it

is very important you do not lie, so please provide the

information contained within your booklet when asked.

Your host for the evening will direct you where necessary and tell

you when to move on to the next round when the time is right.

If you are the murderer you will not be told. When you finally

come to guess who did it – it could easily be you and feel free to

point the finger at yourself if you feel you must!

And lastly: Have fun!

1

Titania

Background Character Information:

Keep this information to yourself, and use it to help you to act

in character throughout the mystery:

You are a spirit of nature, loving to dance by moonlight, fly on the

wind or rest of a flowery bank.

You miss having your troupe of fairies at hand to obey your

commands and may try to get others to wait on you.

You have a passionate but turbulent marriage to Oberon, King of

the Fairies, which doesn’t stop either of you from dallying with

mortals. You have little interest in the love lives of the other

women, except as a source of amusement.

Your play is ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.

2

Titania

Introductions:

Use the following dialogue to introduce yourself to the other

guests, speaking when indicated below.

Titania speaks first using the following dialogue:

Death? That is something only of concern to mortals. They all

die soon – does it matter how?

I am Titania, queen of the fairies, wandering by spangled

starlight, dancing to the whistling wind. My play is ‘A Midsummer

Night’s Dream’. Magic, mischief and moonlight!

After you have heard from everyone, please continue reading

and begin round 1.

3

Scripted Dialogue Round 1

Nurse Well here’s a how-de-do! And I’d come

here to have a nice rest!

Viola Would you like me to sing to you?

Titania Not unless you sing like a fairy.

Nurse Perhaps later, love.

Lady Macbeth People say my play brings bad luck but

nothing like this!

Juliet It’s sad, of course. But Fortinbras wasn’t

a romantic hero like my Romeo.

Lady Macbeth He’s a good swordsman, your Romeo. I

could have made something of him.

Juliet He had eyes for no one else once he’d

seen me.

Nurse That’s true enough – poor lad!

Viola He’s got no cause for complaint. They

get pages of romantic scenes together. I

have to wait to the end of the play to get

my man!

Cont.

4

6

Lady Macbeth It’s managing a man once you’ve got him

that matters.

Rosalind That’s all beside the point! There

shouldn’t be any men or swords here.

And Fortinbras isn’t supposed to die –

it’s not in the script!

Titania Dear Rosalind. The girl who sorts

everyone out! Remember though; there

are mysterious powers you mortals

cannot understand or control.

Lady Macbeth Alas, so true.

Viola It’s at times like this you want your

family around. If only my twin,

Sebastian, could be here.

Rosalind Stop dallying girls! Let’s get on with

solving this and show Portia she’s not

the only brainy woman Shakespeare

created!

5

Titania - First Round

Questions you should ask:

Scotland is nearer to Norway than most of Shakespeare’s

settings. Ask Lady Macbeth what connection she had to

Fortinbras.

You think Nurse would be good at finding out the gossip. Ask her

whether Fortinbras was single.

Information you should reveal about yourself only when asked.

You are not able to use true magic here – only within the play.

However, much of what people think of as magic is about

deceiving the mind’s eye and understanding how to use nature

for your purposes. That you can do anywhere!

You appreciate the charms of dusk and moonlight and love to

wander the garden at these times. Of course you knew there was

a man around tonight – there was the scent of lust and battle in

the air!

Do not read further until instructed by your host.

8 7

Lady Macbeth Sometimes you have to forget about the

law and just do what you think is best.

Titania Mortal law perhaps, but nature and

magic have their own laws and you

meddle with them at your peril.

Rosalind The law can be toothless. It is supposed

to sort out who gets to be Duke and so

on and so forth. It doesn’t seem to have

helped my father get his due position.

Lady Macbeth He’s too much of a gentleman, that’s his

problem. Sometimes you need to use a

bit of cunning.

Viola That’s why Rosalind and I have chosen to

dress as men – and why Portia does so

when she’s in court.

Nurse Talking of Portia, we’d better get on with

the questioning or we’ll be in big trouble

when she gets back!


Titania I don’t understand why they are taking

such pains about this. Mortal creatures

flourish for a while and then they are

gone.

Juliet And it’s not as though Fortinbras is

important. He only gets half a dozen

speeches in Hamlet. They could easily

give those to one of his captains.

Viola Oh, surely you can’t change

Shakespeare?

Lady Macbeth I don’t see why not. He altered history

to suit himself. My poor husband should

have been seen as the hero, not the

villain. By rights we should have a happy

ending!

Viola I suppose you have to make the best of

the chances you get. Then you can go

from shipwreck survivor to duchess!

Juliet Absolutely! Romeo and I pack more

passion into a week than most couples

get in a lifetime!

Nurse There’s more to life than love scenes you

know! I suppose you never got the

chance to find that out, being hitched to

the boy who got himself exiled for killing

your cousin.

Cont.


Viola So it seems as though Fortinbras was up

to no good here. How terrible! My

brother Sebastian would never behave

like that!

Juliet Nor Romeo! True love endures

everything! Perhaps it’s just old people

that are never truly in love.

Nurse You watch your tongue, young lady!

Young people should be seen but not

heard.

Rosalind Come on ladies! Let’s try and be a bit

more cheerful! There must be some

amusement to be had from this!

Titania The folly of mortals is indeed

entertaining!

Lady Macbeth Folly, guilt and despair – that’s where

meddling with magic leads to.

Viola Oh do come on! Rosalind’s right! We

should look on the bright side! Shall I get

my music?

Nurse Later dear. I think Lady Macbeth has a

headache.

Cont.

10 9

Titania - Second Round


Lady Macbeth knows about soldiers. Ask her what she knows

about Fortinbras’ military career.

Nurse must understand drugs. Ask her whether essence of

foxglove would be easy to prepare.


As a fairy, you can speed through the air and have been to all

parts of the globe, including Norway. You prefer it in winter, with

the snow sparkling in the pine forests and the chance of

encountering a prince out hunting! You did pass a dreamy night

in a forest hut with Fortinbras but it was many moons ago. He

has changed much since.

You did not let Fortinbras in and you would not have done so

even if he had asked. You have heard him laughing with his

soldiers, telling them in crude detail about the mean trick your

husband Oberon played on you.


11 12

Viola I play music to soothe Orsino, even when

he’s pining for someone else.

Titania You’re too nice for your own good, Viola.

Mortal man or fairy king, they are not to

be trusted. Even when you’re asleep

they can be tricking you.

Lady Macbeth Sleep – if only I could sleep!

Rosalind Come on you miserable lot! Let’s get

this mystery sorted out and then we can

get back to the relaxation we came here

for.

Titania - Third Round


Ask Juliet whether she met Fortinbras today.

Rosalind is a bit of a schemer herself. Ask her whether she thinks

Fortinbras was plotting anything.


Oberon, the fairy king and your husband, used a mean trick to

make a fool of you. While you were asleep in the woods, on

Midsummer Night, he put a spell on you. It made you adore the

first creature you saw on awaking. That turned out to be a

foolish yokel named Bottom. To add to the insult, Oberon had

given him a donkey’s head! You know audiences laugh at seeing

you besotted with this monster but you don’t expect your fellow

characters to join in the mockery.

Of course you know about herbal potions! You understand the

true essence of each flower far more deeply than humans do. If

you chose to make a poison from the foxglove, you could make it

untraceable by the crude tools the apothecaries use.


14 13

Titania

Concluding Statement

Use the following dialogue to summarise your position,

speaking when indicated below.

Titania speaks after Lady Macbeth using the following dialogue:

This affair wearies me. Fortinbras was a mortal man subject to

lust and greed. So many of them are. No Juliet! Please don’t

interrupt again to say Romeo is the exception! My Oberon, my

true soulmate despite our quarrels, outshines them all!

And don’t forget, I can easily rise above the mockery of a soldier –

literally! Why would I bother to kill him and be subject to this

endless questioning?

You know what? I’m going to check myself out of this so called

sanctuary as soon as I can. I want to get back to my fairies and

dance with them in the sparkling dew and watch the sun rise

over the ocean!

After you have heard from all the guests make a prediction as to

who the murderer is and why.

Tell the others.

We hope you enjoyed playing this Red Herring Games murder

mystery and will visit us again to try out our other games.

Red Herring Games have a collection of experienced authors,

who are continually producing new games for your enjoyment.

Red Herring Games are constantly on the look out for more

authors to add to our portfolio, giving you more choice.

10% OFF YOUR NEXT PURCHASE

Thank you for playing a Red Herring Game.

In order to receive a 10% discount on future

purchases simply enter code:

RHP2007

The next time you visit

www.Red-Herring-Games.co.uk

Documents

Titania - Red Herring Games