Review: VENUS IN FUR at Dirt Dogs Theatre

VENUS IN FUR is a pitch black, sensual comedy from David Ives that premiered in 2010 and made a Tony-award-winning transition to Broadway by 2011. The text is loosely based on the 1870 novella VENUS IN FURS by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, an author who defined and became the namesake for "masochism". This material has been adapted into several films, but this play by Ives spiritually comes closest to a true representation of the source material, even though he takes great liberties with the story of Severin von Kushemski and Wanda (“Vanda”) von Dunayev. It’s all about power and eroticism, how they intersect, how they deviate, and how we fetishize their interplay until a point when it hurts too much. Sacher-Masoch had a grim conclusion to his novella, but the play has a little more fun with the idea that these characters live on to torture each other in their “Suprasensual” ways. Man, woman, actor, director, the push and the pull never ends. 

The narrative is straightforward and adds a “play within a play” twist. A playwright is auditioning women for his adaptation of VENUS IN FURS, and he can not find the right actress. After the sessions are officially over, a mysteriously brassy latecomer enters and demands to be seen. Her name is actually Vanda, though she doesn't seem to capture the refined elements of the noble woman on the page. She’s rough, she’s loud, she’s wrong. Then she starts reading, and something happens. She is transformed into a sophisticated character, knows all the lines, and has insight into the playwright and his script that no one could possibly have. Is she a woman, a ghost, a force of nature? Or is she something even more primal, female, and cruel than he could ever imagine? How much are they acting? 

DIRT DOGS seems a likely company to take on this story. They have never shied away from material such as MISERY, BLACKBIRD, and BUG, in which relationships and pain reach an incredible, surreal place. They have cast rising star Olivia Knight as Vanda, and equity powerhouse Jay Sullivan as Thomas. For Knight, this represents her first chance to be the original aggressor rather than the avenging victim, and it’s wild to see her twist her narrative. She is stunning and statue-esque, and Olivia whiplashes between actress and countess with skill. Sullivan has to have the power tables perversely turned, and he seems game to give it a go. At first, he is smarmy and in control, but we see his character lose that sense as the play progresses. His transformation is slower than Knight’s, but equally as vivid. They both turn in solid work as the only two in the room for an hour and a half. They do indeed carry VENUS IN FUR ably. Technically, the scenery from Mark Lewis is wonderfully apt and recalls the Broadway production’s loft warehouse vibe. John Baker gives us a moody light palette, and Trevor Cone’s sound is a character in and of itself. Malinda Beckham’s directing is tight, and she keeps the pacing at a rapid clip. All in all, this is a solid and handsome production that should make all involved proud. 

But what about the black magic of VENUS IN FUR? This particular production plays it safe when the material calls for danger. I wonder if we live in the era of sensitivity about the more toxic side of Sacher-Masoch, and so the company holds back at a distance a little too often. The “play within the play” should pop and become real, and it never truly does. It seems reserved, a little ashamed of the more lurid elements here. It’s all far too in control for me to believe that anything revelatory has happened. I felt like I was in a safe space and never worried about using my safe word. It was a play. They were acting. Is it direction or chemistry, perhaps both? Vanda and Thomas were respecting each other’s space and not seducing or game-playing quite hard enough to feel like this was more than an audition. 

I enjoyed this VENUS IN FUR save for one thing. It’s well acted, well staged, and the production certainly is well executed. Had I never read the book, had I never seen another production, I would have applauded and had no further questions. It’s respectful. But when do you know lust and fetish to be respectful? Are we just here in a space where theater companies are going to have too much concern to really go to places that 1870 went? Or 2010? Are we too tame, too domesticated to understand Sacher-Masoch? Or like Severin, are we just too scared to let them hit us first? 

VENUS IN FUR runs at the MATCH in Matchbox 1 through March 14th. The show runs 90 minutes without an intermission. Parking can be found around the venue, either on the street or in a “pay for” garage. Wine pairs well with this one, and can be purchased at the concessions before the curtain.