Venus in Fur, by David Ives is mentally stimulating, erotically charged, and brash in it’s subtletly. It is a thrill ride of innuendo, secret meanings and obvious temptations that keeps the audience wondering the entire time, just how the story will end.
The plot revolves around a down-on her luck actress played by Nina Arianda, auditioning for the lead role in a play titled Venus in Fur, that is set in Victorian times. Upon first glance you realize the actress is completely wrong for the role, because the character demands poise, class, and restraint, while the actress is loud, obnoxious, and hilarious. After the opening scenes however, the production whisks you way into a sort of alternate reality where the will they-won’t they undertones manage to suspend reality.
When you are watching Venus in Fur, you forget about the outside world both in real time, and within the play. In many ways, it is a play within a play within a play. The audience watches as voyeurs, while the actors play actors, in an audition that ends up affecting a lot more than which actor gets which role and changes the viewpoints and lives of it’s characters. I am normally an overtly sexual blatant kind of guy, but the intrigue and mystery of the story drew me in like a masochist to a spiked-heel in the balls.
Venus in Fur is exciting, tempting, hilarious, and memorable. The production manages to reach the holy grail of expectations for a Broadway play. They use only one set and two actors, yet are able to transport the audience to other worlds within worlds. I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish, and only wish that my romantic trysts and secret affairs were half as exciting.
Playing at the Lyceum Theatre
