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The Second Women at Weiwuying Stages Golden Bell Best Leading Actress Zhu Zhi-Ying Alongside 100 Amateur Actors in 24-Hour Non-Stop Performance
On Friday, November 2nd, Weiwuying Paint Shop will be presenting a 24-hour non-stop performance of The Second Woman, an adaption by Australian artists Nat Randall and Anna Breckon from the work of renowned US director John Cassavetes’s 1977 film Opening Night.
The Second Woman was a great hit at its premiere at the 2016 Next Wave Festival in Australia and was immediately invited to perform at Dark Mofo and the Liveworks Festival in Sydney. The work was also selected by art critics as the most innovative new work of 2017. In 2018, The Second Woman was invited by Weiwuying to perform in Chinese for the first time, with Zhu Zhi-Ying, winner of the Golden Bell Best Leading Actress Award, as the leading performer.
Staging only one leading actress alongside 100 amateur actors, the performance of The Second Woman repeats a 10-minute scene across 24 hours, challenging the skills of performers. Since its premiere in May 2016, The Second Woman has staged in Melbourne, Hobart, Sydney, and Perth. The performance in Kaohsiung will be the first international performance of The Second Woman. Because this 24-hour work challenges the energy and endurance of performers, the performance requires a six-month break before the next presentation. The artist Nat Randall is an actress while Anna Breckon is a film professional, which is why The Second Woman integrates film scenes within the work. Apart from on-site presentations of scenes, The Second Woman applies camera movements that project the detailed facial expressions of the performers onto a large screen. This allows rich viewing experiences and for the audience to shift from a bystander perspective when interpreting the relationship within the performance to closeup interaction with the leading actress.
Nat Randall mentioned: “This performance has an intoxicating quality that lures you to step closer. Furthermore, the delicate and natural performance of Zhi-Ying has brought forth viewing experiences like no other.” Co-creator Anna Breckon states: “The different effects and changes brought forth by different languages become apparent as each performer emerged on stage during rehearsal. I am very much looking forward to the staging of this performance.”
Weiwuying held an open audition for the 100 amateur actors who would be performing on stage with the leading actress. Although they were following the same scripts, the varying age, personality, life experience, and background of the actors led to different interpretations of the script and emotions. The selected actors are of different age and from various walks of life; the youngest is only 18 years old and includes students, taxi drivers, delivery men, or retirees. Each line may be interpreted by the actors as either angry, hysterical, or sad, allowing viewers to see the different reactions to the same emotions and further reflect on or change their own experiences and perspectives. Zhu Zhi-Ying shared: “Rather than referring to the work as theater, I think it’s more like performance art. The 100 actors have different reactions to the same incident, which allow the audience to reflect on their narrative.”