Venus in Fur - Darlinghurst Theatre Company

Overview

There’s something seriously amiss at this audition, and it’s not the usual malarkey. There’s belittlement and power exploitation aplenty, but depending on how you read Venus in Fur, written by David Ives and directed by Grace Barnes for Darlinghurst Theatre Company, underneath the constantly accumulating layers of artifice, you may be witnessing fraud, a sting, divine visitation or something else completely.

The text begins with a gently writhing premise — writer and director Thomas (Gareth Reeves), is at audition’s — and his wit’s — end. Having just adapted a rather racy 17th-century German novel for the stage, he is unable to find an actress capable of performing the female lead. As he is leaving the rehearsal space, a clap of thunder heralds the arrival of Vanda Jordan (Anna Houston), an actress, loud, drenched and leather-clad. She begs for/forces an audition from the reluctant Thomas, assuring him of her ability to assume a character from "18-whatever". "Usually I’m really demure and shit," she remarks, stripping to her underwear without a hint of self-consciousness and rummaging in her bag for a costume.

The writhing gradually becomes a thrashing; in period costume, sipping from an imaginary teacup, Vanda transforms. She is indeed perfect for the part. But as the audition continues and passions that may or may not have anything to do with theatrical integrity begin to flare, elements of her story start to contradict each other. Questions of Vanda’s true identity and motives go unasked or unanswered as the power dynamic in the room is redrawn repeatedly by the shifting bounds of the audition and ‘real life’.

Houston and Reeves both deliver strong performances and work effectively to anchor different parts of the show. While it is Reeves’ grim resolve and weighty delivery that stops any of the German masochism from getting too outrageous, it is Houston’s comic touch, her vivacious and mischievous Vanda who keeps the rehearsal space alive between readings.

Venus in Fur has no simple answers — its focus is enticement rather than enlightenment, folding back on itself endlessly and leaving viewers with an intricate puzzle that doesn’t necessarily have a solution.