Breakups are always tough, but how about 100 in a day?
Ruth Wilson, star of HBO’s “The Affair,” did the same seven-minute scene opposite a succession of new actors 100 times in a 24-hour performance of “The Second Woman” at London’s Young Vic theatre that ended at 4 p.m.
Hundreds queued overnight for a chance to see Wilson perform against non-professionals and well-known faces including her “Luther” co-star Idris Elba and Andrew Scott from “Fleabag.” The theatre near Waterloo station south of the Thames seats about 500 people.
In a red dress on a red set, Wilson faced away from the door where her fellow actor entered with a bag of takeaway noodles. Cameras projected the scene onto walls of the set.
After a drink, debate over “capability” and a dance to the same tune, each segment ended with Wilson’s Virginia telling Marty it’s time to leave and handing him a note. She took 15 minute breaks every two hours and was helped by an all-female backstage crew.
The show, co-produced with the Lift Festival, was originally planned for 2020 but delayed by the pandemic. Bloomberg is a corporate sponsor of the Young Vic, which provided tickets to the event.
