Power. Control. Domination. Subjugation. Mistress. Slave.
Goddess. Mortal. Director. Actress. Ambivalent. Ambiguous. Explicable.
Extricable. A potent stew of taboos and desires mixed with a healthy serving of
word play, sly humour, and top notch performances.
Who really is in control – the one who dominates or the one
who craves domination thus seeking to set the terms of the relationship? How
easily can those lines be blurred? In real life, in fiction, in the creative
process? How easily can they be reversed?
Venus in Fur is a wonderfully layered ‘play within a play’
that seeks to explore these issues under the tantalising banner of sex and masochism.
But that’s only the pretext for 90 minutes of sparring between two actors who
inhabit multiple roles and changing perspective as the balance of power shifts
and mutates in riveting fashion.
A playwright/director, Thomas (Adam Booth), is at the end of
a fruitless day auditioning actresses for his latest play based on an 1870s
masochistic novel. In storms an actress, Vanda (Felicity McKay), hours late,
who coincidentally has the same first name as the character in the adaptation.
Seemingly coarse and unsuitable she convinces Thomas to allow her to audition
with a level of preparation and insight that intrigues and impresses him. As
they read scenes together his play comes to life in ways Thomas never bargained
for. Indeed, Vanda proves adept at taking control of not only the creative
process but Thomas’ own latent desires.
Booth is good as Thomas – from frustrated director to eager
supplicant, he is challenged by Vanda the actress and Vanda the character of
his adaptation with even the goddess Aphrodite making an appearance. There is
an earnestness and belief in Booth’s portrayal that acts as the bedrock for the
assault to come - on Thomas’ motives for adapting the play, to his
interpretation of its meaning and, ultimately, who and what he really is.
Highlights come in an early monologue from the play reading where the
fascination with fur (and pain through submission) is revealed – a Countess
Aunt who beat the character with a birch switch while he was prone on her fur
coat.
Booth also has a well-judged outburst where he turns verbally nasty after
Vanda pushes him too far and he tries to reassert control as snarling director
over the ‘stupid actress’. Then there is a sense of eagerness and desperation
as the character plummets further down the rabbit hole and begs to subjugate
his very identity to be nothing more than property. The scene where Thomas is
commanded to change Vanda’s footwear to knee-high boots is languid sensuality
and desire writ large.
Felicity McKay is simply outstanding as Vanda. Her accent
work is excellent and she slides in and out of various characters with
astonishing ease, each one of them utterly distinctive so there is no prospect
of confusion. She runs the gamut from playful, sexy, sensuous, commanding,
dismissive, brash and refined but always with an underlying air of intrigue
about who this person really is. There are explanations given that seem
plausible enough but still left me in doubt as to their veracity. It’s the far
showier part but handled superbly in McKay’s professional debut. Above all, the
sense of playfulness here is a joy to watch as is a compelling stage presence
even when not featured in any given scene. A striking figure, especially in an
array of memorable costumes, McKay is eminently watchable because she is always
in the moment.
The set is quite simple with a divan the centrepiece. A
storm rages “outside” (which pales in comparison to the tempest on stage) and
the lighting handled this effectively. I wasn’t a fan of the incidental music
that was intermittent and barely audible which made it more a distraction than
an asset. Part of the ‘power struggle’ is who controls the blocking in the play
within the play and there is a nice sense of movement throughout as a result.
The
writing is smart and it is genuinely funny though the humour is sometimes a
little off-kilter given the context but I loved it for being as brash and
unapologetic as its leading lady. There are also lots of theatre in-jokes
(where is stage left again?) that amusingly bolster the creative battleground
for supremacy between director and actress. The last stanza took an interesting
turn as events fold in on themselves and roles are reversed but on first
viewing I found that a little hard to follow. It certainly sponsors further
thought and debate and this is a play that will linger with you long
after the final whip crack.
Venus in Fur is a cleverly written play that allows two
talented actors to inhabit multiple personas in a provocative, insightful and
funny exploration of a subject matter many consider taboo. It is a great start
to the theatre season and the upcoming Fringe Festival of which it’s a part.
Written by David Ives, Directed by Lawrie Cullen-Tait and starring Adam Booth and
Felicity McKay, the play is at the Studio Underground in the State Theatre
Centre and opens Saturday 17th January and runs until Sunday the 8th February.
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