A hundred lives in 24 hours: The Australian directors Nat Randall and Anna Breckon let one woman play out the same emotional scene from a relationship one hundred times in succession – each time with a different man, queer or non-binary person from Vienna. The Second Woman is a 24-hour marathon about love, gender roles and the sensitive dynamics of relationships: an addictive improvisational performance.

For 24 hours, actress Pia Hierzegger will play the same scene. A hundred times she will be facing a new, unfamiliar partner: a man or non-binary person from Vienna. The scene takes ten minutes each time and shows a woman and her partner in a relationship that has lost its vitality and romance. Each iteration begins the same way: a person enters the small living room, carrying a bag of fast food. We know as little about him/them as the performer. For their play The Second Woman, the Australian directors Nat Randall and Anna Breckon were inspired by 1970s US independent cinema and the genre of ‘female melodramas’, a genre that features stereotypical depictions of women. By contrast, every scene on the stage, every encounter – whether gentle, oppressive, funny or terrifying – is a unique experience. It is up to you how long you want to stay and watch; experience has shown that The Second Woman is addictive.