A review by anl2633
Venus in Fur by David Ives
5.0
"In our society, a woman's only power is through men. Her character is her lack of character. She's a blank, to be filled in by creatures who at heart despise her. I want to see what woman will be when she ceases to be men's slave. When she's his equal in education and his partner in work. When she becomes herself. An individual."
In my quest to watch everything that Hugh Dancy has been in, I stumbled over this play. 2 hours later after coming across the sketchiest website to find a bootleg tape of the 2011 performance, I became obsessed. Dang this play was so good.
Based on The Bacchae and the 1870 novel Venus in Fur by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (Masoch? Masochism?), at face value the play seems like it'll be too on the nose. But then it becomes a striking commentary on the toxicity and abuse that actors face in the theater industry. Vanda's speech at the end about how Thomas is duping "some poor, willing, idiot actress and bending her to [his] program" to try and achieve the gratification he's ultimately looking for--*chef's kiss*. You don't really think about how actors (especially female artists) walk into auditions trying to get a job that will pay the bills, and the top dog in the industry, the director, the master can ask anything of them. Making demands of someone who is desperate enough to do anything just to survive is honestly sickening.
Beyond the commentary about the theater industry, ultimately this play deals with the constant gaining and loss of power, sexuality, gender roles, and S&M. On my second go around reading the play, I noticed that Thomas finishes his final lines as the female character Dunayev. He took to reading these lines so effortlessly. This play slips into dealing with sexual duality and gender duality so often. Thomas is just as happy giving orders as he is taking them. And Vanda is such an amazing character. Snarky and unapologetic, refusing to back down when Thomas slips into his misogynistic little tirades. She has full control over every scene and is so unforgettable.
This play forces us to grapple with alternating displays of gender and sex, domination and submission, and the desire for power and the desire to take power away from someone else. It is absolutely alluring, sexy, humorous, and thoughtful. And I will definitely be reading it again to see what else I've missed.
In my quest to watch everything that Hugh Dancy has been in, I stumbled over this play. 2 hours later after coming across the sketchiest website to find a bootleg tape of the 2011 performance, I became obsessed. Dang this play was so good.
Based on The Bacchae and the 1870 novel Venus in Fur by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (Masoch? Masochism?), at face value the play seems like it'll be too on the nose. But then it becomes a striking commentary on the toxicity and abuse that actors face in the theater industry. Vanda's speech at the end about how Thomas is duping "some poor, willing, idiot actress and bending her to [his] program" to try and achieve the gratification he's ultimately looking for--*chef's kiss*. You don't really think about how actors (especially female artists) walk into auditions trying to get a job that will pay the bills, and the top dog in the industry, the director, the master can ask anything of them. Making demands of someone who is desperate enough to do anything just to survive is honestly sickening.
Beyond the commentary about the theater industry, ultimately this play deals with the constant gaining and loss of power, sexuality, gender roles, and S&M. On my second go around reading the play, I noticed that Thomas finishes his final lines as the female character Dunayev. He took to reading these lines so effortlessly. This play slips into dealing with sexual duality and gender duality so often. Thomas is just as happy giving orders as he is taking them. And Vanda is such an amazing character. Snarky and unapologetic, refusing to back down when Thomas slips into his misogynistic little tirades. She has full control over every scene and is so unforgettable.
This play forces us to grapple with alternating displays of gender and sex, domination and submission, and the desire for power and the desire to take power away from someone else. It is absolutely alluring, sexy, humorous, and thoughtful. And I will definitely be reading it again to see what else I've missed.