Not in Front of the Waiter — or Under the Aspidistra was a socially distanced production created at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, supported by Arts & Business Cymru’s CultureStep programme and Bad Wolf.

Constructed from excerpts of Offenbach’s lesser-known works, the piece reimagined a classic farcical structure within the restrictions of socially distanced performance. A nervous couple meeting for a first date discover their spouses doing exactly the same, as misunderstandings, revelations, and shifting loyalties spiral through a restaurant setting.

The production embraced heightened theatricality and comic precision, using distance itself as part of the humour and staging language.

Presented by May Street Opera at the Dora Stoutzker Hall, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, in 2021.