Venus in Fur goes behind the scenes at an audition, where a man and a woman blur the lines between fantasy and reality, seduction and power, love and sex. A crackling exploration of sexual control and desire, the play combines the playwright's rigor and wit.
What Is the Story of Venus in Fur?
As David Ives’ new play begins, we meet a modern-day playwright/director who has written an adaptation of Venus in Fur, the 1870 novel by Leopold Sacher-Masoch that became infamous when the author’s last name inspired the term “sado-masochism” to describe the interplay of sex and power in the book. An actress arrives to audition, her bag filled with S&M gear and period costumes. Soon the playwright is drawn into reading his own script with this mysterious young woman, with breaks to argue about the meaning of the story and the motivation of the characters.
"David Ives’ slick comedy is also about two people ferreting out the truth about each other.... the pair act out the play within the play, and unearth secret desires as they engage in erotically charged power games. Role-playing takes on a whole new meaning.... Ives and director Walter Bobbie take off at breakneck speed, and the stars trade zingers with ease. "
New York Post
Elisabeth Vincentelli
"Playing Vanda, a seemingly ditzy and desperate actress auditioning for a job, [Nina Arianda is] so funny, smart and sexy that watching her brings unexpected jolts like an electrical shock.... [Hugh] Dancy has great charisma and expertly captures Thomas' ever-shifting views of Vanda. In effect, he levels the playing field, and that’s essential. The play is a tug-of-war for power between a man and a woman. You need a fair fight. "
New York Daily News
Joe Dziemianowicz
"Dancy's transition from arrogant dictator to needy supplicant is first class, but Tony Award-nominated Arianda is simply fearsome. Her ability to go from dumb to powerful (also on show last season in the Broadway revival of Born Yesterday) is remarkable and her physicality here, from her Noo Yawk accent to crossing her legs like a longshoreman in a frilly dress, is thrilling. "
Associated Press
Mark Kennedy
"As a neatly balanced pas de deux, Venus in Fur makes a tasty showcase for the right actors.David Ives’ play provided a sensational platform for newcomer Arianda, who had critics grasping for superlatives to describe her preternatural command of physical comedy and her quicksilver transitions from ditz to dominatrix. Dancy arguably has never been better. "
The Hollywood Reporter
David Rooney
"Venus in Fur provides a seriously smart and very funny stage seminar on the destabilizing nature of sexual desire.... Arianda is delivering the first must-see performance of the Broadway season, a bravura turn that burns so brightly you can almost feel the heat on your face.... [Hugh Dancy] holds his own and then some in the role of Thomas."
The New York Times
Charles Isherwood