A new play by Lydia Blaisdell will have its world premiere in Lexington Nov. 5–7, in four performances at the Downtown Arts Center. The Silent Woman tells the strange, true tale of a painter living with an effigy of his ex-lover in 1919 Germany. The play won the biennial Prize for Women Playwrights from the Kentucky Women Writers Conference. “The Silent Woman is a deeply assured work, funny and strange and beautiful in turns. It will make a thrilling production," said acclaimed playwright Carson Kreitzer, who judged the competition. Blaisdell’s script depicts this risqué episode from the point of view of scullery maid Hulda, persuaded to serve as a ladies maid to the effigy. Independently produced by Eric Seale, in collaboration with Kentucky Women Writers Conference and the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, The Silent Woman features a top-notch cast of Kentucky actors whose names will be familiar to local theater audiences: Bethany Finley as the maid Hulda, Darius Fatemi as the painter Oskar, and Bob Singleton as the butler, the coachman who courts Hulda, and the policeman. Performance dates are Nov. 5 at 7:30 pm, Nov. 6 at 7:30 pm, and Nov. 7 and 2 pm and 7:30 pm. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students, and $8 for students 15 minutes before curtain time. To purchase tickets call 859-425-2550 or visit online at lexingtonky.gov/dac. To arrange for the playwright to meet with any student groups attending the play, please contact KWWC director Julie Wrinn at 257-2874 or Julie.Wrinn@uky.edu.