I went to see the pay-what-you-can matinee performance of The Studio Theatre's Venus in Fur by David Ives and it was an afternoon of sheer delight. From talking to the people in line, especially Barbara an older woman who's knowledge of raw foods living made me want to pick her brain for hours, to wandering around the P St. area after I secured my ticket and finding all kinds of things happening in DC that I wanted in on.
At 2, we were thrust into the world of Venus in Fur, a modern-take. It was a play off of the audition process and the way theatres work and it literally became with a boom and ended with a boom. I would recommend everyone go to see this play. It was sexy, provocative, and had a delightful twist at the end. It's the kind of play you don't need to read the novella it was based off of beforehand. It doesn't lose itself in the complexity of the subject matter, or the tawdry nature of it, but instead pulls it out and exposes it to the audience. It was funny, cruel, maddening and intense to watch. Made all the more so by the cast, Christian Conn as Thomas and Erica Sullivan as Vanda. Normally I'm hesitant to see plays with only one or two cast members because it's easy to miss an element. However, these two actors didn't miss a beat from the first minute to the last. You didn't know which person to root for, which one you want to come out on top in the end - no pun intended. But that's the point of the novella, it's a question of dominance and submission and it's place in relationships, it's relationship with love, lust, care. By turns you are amused, reflective, repulsed, and shocked. I loved the emotional roller coaster of it and I always love when people leave the theatre questioning what they just saw and wondering how much of a play on their own lives it may have had. This was one such experience. I wondered who I would be, Thomas or Vanda...or a mix of both.
This was a very well done play. You can see Venus in Fur at The Studio Theatre through July 3rd.
No comments:
Post a Comment