VENUS IN FUR
The Court Theatre, Bernard Street, Addington, Christchurch
21/10/2017 - 11/11/2017
Production Details
50 Shades of Play
50 Shades of Grey swept the world into a fluster and kicked kink culture into the mainstream. Now, to sweep Christchurch into a fluster, The Court Theatre is bringing David Ives’ Venus in Fur onto the mainstage.
Ives’ lead character, Thomas Novacheck, is hoping to cash in on the wave of fetishism when he adapts an 1870 erotic novel for the stage. However, finding a leading lady is proving difficult. Then Vanda arrives – uncouth and unprepared with an uncanny connection to the role. What starts as an increasingly disastrous audition quickly turns into a game of dominance and desire which blurs the lines between fantasy and reality.
Venus in Fur is as intellectually stimulating as it is an act of seduction. Much like Vanda herself, the playis chameleon-like; shifting effortlessly from sexy to smart, intense to playful, comedic to mysterious.
The New York Times called Ives’ play a “psychodrama”, and a French reviewer described it as “a black comedy”. When asked which description was more accurate, Ives was quoted as saying “take your pick”. With its intriguing ambiguity, Venus in Fur found widespread appeal among audiences and critics alike; the “hot ticket” for theatres worldwide.
Director of Venus in Fur, Lara Macgregor, most recently directed the acclaimed season of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at The Court Theatre. Going from a show with a large cast, extensive physical theatre components and stunning audio-visual elements, Macgregor is relishing “working with two actors, barely two costumes and one set” in “a play that celebrates the craft of acting”.
Finding two actors who fit the roles was no easy feat, and the audition process for Venus in Fur was a long one. “Connection and chemistry between the leads is crucial,” says Macgregor. “This play puts them to the physical and emotional test.”
Daniel Watterson and Jessie Lawrence recently appeared together as lovers in Q Theatre’s The Effect. Their on-stage chemistry made them the perfect pair to play Thomas and Vanda. “Ironically, Jessie and Daniel were the standout actors in the first round of auditions last December,” says Macgregor, “but it took many months and various combinations of personalities to come full circle back to casting them.”
Artistic Director of The Court Theatre, Ross Gumbley, chose Venus In Fur for The Court’s 2017-18 Season because “it’s a piece of contemporary theatre that’s on the edge. It’s intellectually smart, undeniably sexy and at its heart it looks at how the lines between acting and identity can be blurred. It’s a very exciting play for us to bring to the stage.”
The 1870 novel Venus in Furs follows a man surrendering himself to a woman to be dominated and abused; the author’s name, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, coined the term “masochism”. Ives set out to do a straightforward adaptation of the novel but found the idea of setting it around an audition – itself something of an exercise in submission and control – much more intriguing. Using the device of a play within a play allows Ives to explore the power struggle that can exist between prospective sexual partners.
Find out who ends up on top when Venus in Fur opens at The Court Theatre on 21 October 2017.
Contains adult content.
Tonkin & Taylor Main Stage at The Court Theatre
Show supported by Pub Charity
21 October – 11 November 2017
6.30pm: Monday & Thursday
7.30pm: Tue/Wed/Fri/Sat
Forum 6:30pm Monday 23 October – Discuss the play with cast and creative team after the performance
2.00pm: Matinee Saturday 4 November
Ticket Prices:
Adult: $54-$62
Senior 65yrs+: $47-$52
Group 6+: $44-$52
Court Supporter: $45-$53
30 Below: $30
Bookings: phone 03 963 0870 or visit www.courttheatre.org.nz
Cast:
Daniel Watterson: Thomas
Jessie Lawrence: Vanda
Production Team:
Lara Macgregor: Director
Nigel Kerr: Set Designer
Aimee Reed: Costume Designer
Henri Kerr: Sound Designer
Giles Tanner: Lighting Designer/Operator
Christy Lassen: Properties Manager
Jo Bunce: Stage Manager
Theatre ,
Challenges met with controlled intensity
Review by Lindsay Clark 22nd Oct 2017
From prolific American playwright David Ives, mostly known for short pieces, comes an intriguing exploration of gender politics and the never-ending battle of the sexes. There is nothing unusual about that territory, but Ives’ unusual vehicle is an audition for a theatre work itself adapted from the nineteenth century novel by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. The duplicated expression of power play through sadomasochism is then the stuff of the play before us.
We are given a play-within-a-play, in which the adapter/director finds himself experiencing, in real life, the stage ideas he is trying to clarify through the illusion of theatre. With two plots running and both real time and ‘scripted’ roles being played by the same two characters, firm direction and mercurial actors are called for. To that extent, an assured Lara Macgregor and her cast control challenging material brilliantly.
It is late afternoon of a frustrating audition session and Thomas, the writer/director, is angrily venting his opinion of would be actresses, none of whom seem possible as Vanda, the central role in his adapted work. Cue thunderstorm and the entrance of a young woman whose name just happens to be Vanda, and who is not as naive or hapless as she originally makes out. Furthermore, she is going nowhere, and for all his initial attempts to dismiss or control his unexpected auditionee, the would-be director faces challenges he never dreamed of.
The cut and thrust of the play derives from the shifting power balance between the two, underscored by the unfolding plot of the original novel. Ives airs most thoroughly the perils and pleasures of dominance and submission. Misogyny is not a simple matter of degrading women but is in itself a kind of degradation.
It is an interesting set up, but one whose convolutions are testing for the patient engagement of an audience. The real life situation, in which the dizzy blond eventually reveals the devastating power of dealing in myth, works better than the scene by scene working at the adapted material.
Lara Macgregor is served well by her creative team. Nigel Kerr’s New York loft with rain drenched skylight and evocative stage detritus, including a battered classical warrior statue and something suggestive of a Trojan horse, is an ideal arena for events. Lights and sound design (Giles Tanner and Henri Kerr respectively), substantially contribute to the escalating plot lines, while Aimee Reed’s costume work is both evocative and practical, given the frequent role changes required.
As Thomas and Vanda, in multiple reconfigurations of status and control, Daniel Watterson and Jessie Lawrence deal with the challenges effortlessly. Both have roles and roles within roles to create, without losing the thread of either plot or the overall momentum of the play. They are endlessly locked in response to each other and the controlled intensity of the interaction is a tribute to their craft, acknowledged on opening night by warm and sustained applause.
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