Alia Shawkat to perform The Second Woman in New York

Marking a major new milestone in the extraordinary trajectory of the project, Performing Lines is thrilled to announce that The Second Woman by Nat Randall and Anna Breckon will be performed by actor, writer and producer Alia Shawkat when it makes its US debut at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in October.

Best known for roles in acclaimed screen productions including Search Party, Duck Butter, Animals, Arrested Development, Broad City, and Transparent, Shawkat has developed a devoted following of fans and critics the world over through her daring and diverse project choices and a distinctive, wry and honest performance style.

[Shawkat] seems like the sort of person you’d have a really, really good conversation with around 3am on a night out. – The Guardian

Shawkat is looking forward to the challenge of performing for 24 hours straight in Randall and Breckon’s epic durational work The Second Woman. She will perform the role against 100 male volunteers of all ages and backgrounds drawn from across New York City.

“Alia’s capacity for connection, her comic timing, sharp edge, strength, openness, and queer feminist sensibility makes her perfect for this one-woman piece,” said co-creators Breckon and Randall.

“Alia’s ability to make a scene feel full of emotional potential—feel truly live, as if it can go in any direction—will be dynamite in this work that cannot be predetermined as it is brought into existence moment to moment.”

“I couldn’t be more excited to make my stage debut in The Second Woman,” Shawkat said in a statement. “It’s a show that encompasses all the themes of art that I am most interested in being a part of.”

Produced by Performing Lines and presented by BAM as part of their prestigious Next Wave season, The Second Woman continues its ascent internationally as a landmark work of Australian theatre, with a Canadian presentation and a Helpmann nomination this year, and its UK debut at the London International Theatre Festival at the Young Vic scheduled in 2020.

“We are so excited to welcome Alia Shawkat, an accomplished performer with an impressive legacy of iconic roles to date, to the project,” said Marion Potts, Executive Producer – Performing Lines.

“With Alia in the role, The Second Woman is surely the performance event to catch in New York this October. Nat and Anna are extraordinary independent Australian artists, and Performing Lines is committed to ensuring their vision is supported and fulfilled.”

The Second Woman will be performed at BAM for 24 hours beginning at 5pm Friday 18 October. General admission tickets will be available on the door for US$25, capacity permitting.

—

Show details

BAM Fisher (Fishman Space), 321 Ashland Pl
Oct 18—19 from 5pm—5pm (24-hour durational)
Tickets: $25 | Click here for more info>>

Media

For all media enquiries, please contact: Thom Smyth | Performing Lines
marketing@performinglines.org.au | +61 2 9319 0066

The Second Woman is produced by Performing Lines and supported by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.