Ruth Wilson gets a standing ovation after breaking up with 100 men in 24 hours
To make a bow! Ruth Wilson gets standing ovation after splitting with 100 men – including former Luther co-star Idris Elba – in new London theater show within 24 hours
Actress Ruth Wilson took to the air yesterday to a nine-minute standing ovation after a 24-hour marathon performance.
Hundreds of theater fans lined up around the corner to see her at South London’s Young Vic with fellow Luther star Idris Elba and 99 other men in a drama extravaganza.
She played a seven-minute scene about a break-up 100 times – each with a different man playing her boyfriend – in one of the most extraordinary plays to hit London.
When the last man left the stage at 4 p.m. yesterday, the audience jumped to their feet. An emotional Mrs. Wilson wiped away a tear, bowing and punching the air as the crowd cheered.
Nearly all of the men who starred in The Second Woman—many of whom were recruited by word of mouth—had no acting experience and had never met Mrs. Wilson before taking the stage.
Actress Ruth Wilson stood on air yesterday to a nine-minute standing ovation after a 24-hour marathon performance
Hundreds of theater fans lined up around the corner to see her at South London’s Young Vic with fellow Luther star Idris Elba and 99 other men in a drama extravaganza.
Some spectators stayed overnight to watch the Jane Eyre star adapt her performance
But some star names also came in, including Elba, James Bond’s Ben Whishaw, Game Of Thrones’ Aidan Gillen, Sherlock’s Andrew Scott and Toby Jones from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
There were surprises even among the amateurs, with former BBC journalist Kamal Ahmed taking the stage. ‘What an experience. Like taking your park tennis and being asked to hit a few shots with Rafael Nadal,” Ahmed tweeted after his 6:45 am performance.
The show started at 4 p.m. on Friday and spectators could show up at any time during the performance. It proved so popular that the theater had to cut the queue at 10 a.m. yesterday. About 300 waited more than four hours.
In the scene, Mrs. Wilson asks each co-star if they still think she’s beautiful. Depending on their answer, she throws her Chinese takeout noodles at them or gives them before they dance together.
All the rules were the same except the last one, when the man chooses whether to say “I love you” or “I never loved you.” Mrs. Wilson then pays them £20 and tells them to leave. She varied how she played it each time, smothering noodles on Scott’s face and wrapping her legs around Whishaw in his dance scene – before grabbing his buttocks. Elba changed the script to suggest she was pregnant.
Some star names also came in, including Elba, James Bond’s Ben Whishaw (pictured), Game Of Thrones’ Aidan Gillen, Sherlock’s Andrew Scott and Toby Jones from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Some of the co-stars were too eager during their seven minutes of fame and tried to ad-lib.
Roger Breeden, a 60-year-old pension specialist from Surrey with no acting experience, told The Mail on Sunday: “It’s quite a physical feat, I almost kissed her.”
One of the final co-stars, part-time actor and gardener Adar Owuna, 45 – who appeared at 2.15pm – said: “She didn’t seem exhausted at all. I thought she would be tired, but she didn’t look tired. She’s a complete phenomenon.’
Luc De Freitas, 20, a student from west London, said: ‘It was like stepping into another reality. It felt so intimate, then you hear someone in the audience laughing and you remember that you’re on stage.’
Some spectators stayed overnight to watch the Jane Eyre star adapt her performance – with four superfans from Spain, Sweden, France and England holding out for 24 hours, including Eleanor Bowler, 25, from Leeds.
She said, “I drank two coffees to limit toilet breaks and survived on water and breadsticks.”
About 90 minutes after her performance ended, Ms. Wilson stormed into a waiting taxi — presumably on her way home for a well-deserved nap.