Proposed programme

One day, in person. Six sessions at ±30–35 minutes each (paper and brief discussion), with waiting staged between them. Aimed finish ±15:30. Times stay provisional until the date and room are fixed.

The interludes are part of a larger design — roles, tickets, forms, queues — explained on The experiment. This page is only the clock.

  1. Prologue · The doorAdvertised start passes. Notice: will begin shortly. Chairs provided. Opening words address what the room just felt. (±15 min)
  2. Opening frameConvenor: waiting imposed and waiting chosen. (±15 min)
  3. Session IThe waiting room of history. (±30–35 min)
  4. Interlude · The ticketNumbers drawn at the door. Questions and coffee by called number, unexplained order. Some numbers never called. Nobody refused. (±10 min)
  5. Session IIPapers. (±30–35 min)
  6. Tea · The formMorning tea is not free. An Application to Be Heard must be filed at a slow desk. Some forms are stamped DEFERRED — refreshment delayed without reasons. The pending wall of forms becomes the installation. What eventually arrives is unlabelled: mysterious food, no menu. Dietary needs are collected at registration and honoured without breaking the experiment's silence for others. (±25 min)
  7. Session IIINobody signs a delay. (±30–35 min)
  8. Lunch · The canteen of deferralLunch opens late by design. Trays are issued by lot, not by queue position. Dishes have no names — only numbers. One table is set and never served. Seconds are promised "shortly". Allergen and religious dietary requirements, declared at registration, are met with labelled alternatives. (±55 min)
  9. Session IVPenelopes and the left-behind. (±30–35 min)
  10. Interlude · The silent queueTen minutes before a door marked OFFICE. No phones. Door opens on an empty room. Short debrief. (±10 min)
  11. Session VThe queue and the promised future. (±30–35 min)
  12. Tea · The second sittingAfternoon tea is announced for a time that slips. A clock is visible and wrong. Numbers from the morning tickets are called again. (±20 min)
  13. Session VIThe art of waiting. (±30–35 min)
  14. Closing · The chairHow the day ends with the empty seat is the closing argument. (±15 min)
  15. Epilogue · The pending wallOne card each: 'I am still waiting for ______.' Day ends ±15:30.

Participating means you agree to a role and to the social experiment. Documentary filming is optional — see the registration form. No-camera markers are honoured on the day.

Late October 2026 · exact date to be confirmed. In person only.