Following their much applauded debut with Stupid F**king Bird in February 2017, Lightning Jar Theatre returns with multi award-winning, American playwright David Ives’ Venus in Fur at fortyfivedownstairs from 13 March 2018.
Thomas, a beleaguered playwright/director, is desperate to find an actress to play Vanda, the female lead in his adaptation of the classic sadomasochistic tale Venus in Furs. Into his empty audition room walks a vulgar and equally desperate actress – oddly enough, named Vanda.
Though utterly wrong for the sophisticated part, Vanda exhibits a strange command of the material, piquing Thomas’ interest with her seductive talents and secretive manner. As the two work through the script, they blur the line between play and reality, entering into an increasingly serious game of submission and domination that only one of them can win.
Venus in Fur is a mysterious, funny, erotic drama: a whip-smart exploration of sexual politics, gender and power through the lense of sadomasochism. Directed by Green Room Award winner Kirsten von Bibra, it features Lightning Jar founding member Tilly Legge joined on stage by Darcy Kent as Thomas, direct from a successful season of Desert 6:29 at Red Stitch.
Venus in Fur premiered at New York’s Off-Broadway theatre Classic Stage Company in 2011 before moving to Broadway and being nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play. It has since been performed all over America and the world, and has been turned into a movie directed by Roman Polanski which premiered at the 2013 Cannes International Film Festival.
David Ives is an award-winning American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. His works include All in the Timing, New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch De Spinoza, The School for Lies (adapted from Moliere’s The Misanthrope), The Liar (adapted from Corneille), Time Flies and Is He Dead? (adapted from Mark Twain. He has also translated Feydeau’s A Flea in Her Ear, and Yasmina Reza’s A Spanish Play.
New York Magazine once named him one of the 100 smartest New Yorkers, a distinction he has called the greatest tragedy of his life. He is currently collaborating with Stephen Sondheim on a much-anticipated musical based on two films of Luis Buñuel.
“Provides a seriously smart and very funny stage seminar on the destabilizing nature of sexual desire… The excitement in watching Venus in Fur is not knowing exactly what the emotional and sexual stakes really are.” – NY Times
Director: Kirsten von Bibra Featuring: Darcy Kent and Tilly Legge Sound Designer: Linton Wilkinson Composer: Claire Healy Lightning Designer: Megz Evans Set & Costume Design: Dann Barber Dialect Coach: Jean Goodwin Stage Manager: Jackie Mates
Venus in Fur
fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Season: 13 – 24 March 2018 (previews: 9 – 11 March)
Information and Bookings: www.fortyfivedownstairs.com
Image: Darcy Kent and Tilly Legge star in Venus in Fur – photo by Sarah Walker