Wait To Be Seated by Sandbox and She She Pop explores issues beyond hospitality

What happens when two cultures meet for a sit-down meal? Wait To Be Seated by Bengaluru-based Sandbox Collective and She She Pop from Germany, is a production that aims at exploring the different layers and agenda, behind the hospitality of these two different cultures.

Wait To Be Seated brings to the table polished silver and German manners, and Indian namastes and mittai.  Does a guest decide when it is time to leave or do the hosts have to start dropping cutlery with their hints? Where does one draw the line between people-pleasing and politeness? Wait To Be Seated attempts to unravel these questions through a dinner table dialogue, red carpet event and a closet full of clothes and bows. 

Nimi Ravindran of Sandbox Collective says, “This isn’t your usual play with roles, scenes or a script. It comprises six women coming together and playing themselves in situations that unfold in real time, just as it does for the audience.” 

A scene from Wait to be Seated
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Wait To Be Seated was conceptualised when Sandbox visited Germany in 2022 and met with She She Pop. Their conversations and fun hangouts led them to discover how similar both collectives were in the principles they advocated, such as human rights, gender equality and most importantly, solidarity towards other artistic and lesser privileged communities.

For Ilia Papatheodorou of She She Pop, the unquestioned “laws” of hospitality that demand the hosting to be done by the female sex, was one of the reasons why Wait To Be Seated came into being. “Hospitality is often a female performance where the mothers are always expected to serve at the dining table, whilst having no plate of their own,” says the artiste. 

The collectives began working on rehearsals earlier this year, connecting over zoom calls, task sheets and a special Indian dance form that the German troupe has been practising for this performance. The team hopes audiences would take into account the hard work put into the play, which to them is, “an act of hospitality to hold on to even after the curtains close”.

Wait To Be Seated will be staged at Sabha, Bengaluru from 7pm onwards from November 28-30. Tickets starting at ₹300 available at sabhablr.in