In the lead-up to new show Dinner With America, showing at Lancaster University’s Nuffield Theatre 29th & 30th November, London based artist Rajni Shah delivers a free participatory experience in the centre of Lancaster.
Drawing on Shah’s ongoing research into gift-giving as intervention in public space, this interactive performance takes place in the busy communal area of the St Nicolas Shopping Arcade in Lancaster town centre.
Passers-by are greeted by a large dinner table, where other members of the public are seated. Newcomers are invited to take part by accepting the gift of a small envelope containing a pound coin, a conversation starter, and an instruction to use the pound as inspiration to make, buy or find something to bring back to the table and then share whatever is on the table at that time.
“It was wonderful to have the excuse to talk to complete strangers,” sais one previous particpant. “This was an unforgettable experience.”
This project was originally commissioned by the Nuffield Theatre and Futuresonic Festival, and first took place in Manchester’s Picadilly Gardens in April 2008.