In this part of the chapter we develop a theoretical framework influenced by ideas contained in Goffman s The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959), using this framework to demonstrate the fragility of hospitality as a highly skilled and socially constructed performance .

Goffman explains his use of the metaphor of a theatrical performance as follows.

I have been using the term performance to refer to all the activity of an individual which occurs during a period marked by his (sic) continuous presence before a particular set of observers. It will be convenient to label as front that part of the individual s performance which regularly functions in a general and fixed fashion to define the situation for those who observe the performance.

(Goffman, 1959, p. 32).

The place in which observations of an individual or team performance take place and the relationship to the observer are crucial in this argument. Thus, Goffman argues that the setting (or stage) within which the performance takes place and the appearance and manner of the performer(s) are key determinants of the front of everyday life. These three determinants are analogous in his dramaturgical framework to the stage and props, costume and characterization. These factors are crucial in sustaining what Goffman calls the impression management of a performance to avoid letting the side down , gaffs or causing a scene (Goffman, 1959, pp. 203 30). Anyone familiar with the fly-on-the-wall docu-drama filmed at the Adelphi in Liverpool will appreciate the...