The world is your stage, or so the saying goes. Starting today, this cliche can become your reality with London-based experimental theater company Rotozaza. A performance piece for two, Etiquette can be played out between strangers or friends across a table at Samovar Tea Lounge in Yerba Buena Gardens. Turning the idea of audience participation on its head, Silvia Mercuriali and Anthony Hampton—the masterminds behind this offbeat experience—provide headphones which dictate instructions to layman-come-actor.
Hailed by The New York Times as "gripping" and "an unusual brand of cerebral theater," Etiquette has traveled around the world since its premiere in London in 2007 and is now making its Bay Area debut. Whether theater is your thing or not, indulge yourself in the fantasy of speaking without planning what to say, an occasion rarely offered in day-to-day life. Experience communication at both its rawest and most delicate as you give up control and let professionals take the reigns.
YBCA is hosting performances on the hour Thursdays - Sundays 9/16-10/3. Meet at Yerba Buena's Grand Lobby at your scheduled time to be guided to the performance site. Each piece lasts for only a half hour. $10; 701 Mission St., 415-978-2787, ybca.org
