Fremantle’s Undeniable making Ruth Wilson-led performance doc ‘The Second Woman’

Ruth Wilson

Fremantle-owned UK factual label Undeniable is working on The Second Woman (working title) a feature documentary following Luther and His Dark Materials star Ruth Wilson as she embarks on a one-off performance piece at the Young Vic theatre in London.

The Second Woman documentary is directed by Ursula Macfarlane (Untouchable, Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me) produced and executive produced by Mandy Chang and Linda Brusasco of Fremantle Documentaries and by Ruth Wilson.

Meanwhile, The Second Woman play is created and directed by playwrights and directors, Anna Breckon and Nat Randall and co-produced by the Young Vic Theatre and LIFT- London’s international festival of theatre. It is produced in association with Ruth Wilson and House of Oz.

The doc follows Wilson as she performs a single break up scene over and over playing opposite 100 different men, non-binary, and queer people across a full 24 hours. Inspired by John Cassavetes’ 1977 film Opening Night, the scene involves a couple negotiating a long-term relationship that has lost its romance and vitality.

With only brief breaks throughout the performance, Wilson plays the role of Virginia in every single scene, opposite a series of mostly non-actors, who she has never met before, let alone rehearsed with. She has no way of knowing in advance who her co-stars are, nor can she anticipate how they might choose to play the scene. All this while she navigates a combination of adrenaline and exhaustion.

European production group Fremantle launched Undeniable in March, with a focus on documentary features and series. The label  sits within the Fremantle Documentaries division, which is headed up by Mandy Chang, the group’s global head of documentaries.

“The opportunity to make a film woven around this ground-breaking piece of theatre, with a team that is completely made up of female professionals is a rare gift, as is working with two great talents in their fields – actor Ruth Wilson and director Ursula Macfarlane,” said Chang.