Die Presse

Vienna’s English Theatre: Let’s Play Master and Slave!

In „Venus in Fur“, a director and an actress immerse themselves in a scandalous affair of subjugation and passion.

„Anybody allowing themselves to be whipped deserves to be whipped.“ This final sentence in Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s novel„Venus im Pelz“ is, at the same time, the moral of the tale. In this stage adaptation by US dramatist, David Ives, the sentence turns into „Don’t fuck with a goddess“. This is spoken by Vanda who is auditioning for the part of Wanda in the play for director, Thomas, who is already in despair: not one of the auditionees exuded the elegance and cruel eroticism of Wanda von Dunajev, as Sacher-Masoch created her.

(…) The result is an impressive chamber-piece in which the protagonists only gradually reveal their multi-faceted characters. Thomas emerges as an intellectually pessimistic romantic who encounters more of his own self in the character of Severin than he is willing to admit. Vanda mutates from aspiring actress to despot, whilst Thomas is reduced from director to being her submissive servant. Is it Vanda who comes out on top by the end? Has she unearthed Thomas’ real nature? Does a woman have to become a demon in order to dominate? These are the questions posed by the play which was hugely successful on Broadway and was filmed by Roman Polanski in 2013.
Adrienne Ferguson directs effectively for Vienna’s English Theatre. Mark Elstob displays versatility as Thomas, whilst Georgia Kerr is a wonderful, ever-shifting Vanda with whom it might be unwise to get involved. The play is captivating not just in the literal sense.

Katrin Nussmayr
29.01.2015

DER NEUE MERKER

(…) The goings-on onstage in just over an hour and a half with no interval are so intense, so fast that one occasionally longs for a slightly lower gear; excellent as the actors at Vienna’s English Theatre are, they cannot, nevertheless, entirely compensate for a certain uniformity of the material.
(…) It is only at the end of the evening that we fully realise just what a riddle Vanda is and remains, who she actually may be, why she has come, what is really behind it all and whether the whole thing might not be a nightmare on the part of the author/director, a nemesis of female vengeance which perceives subjugation of the woman in even the subtlest male posings…

This mutual sparring between Dunajew and Severin von Kusiemski in Sacher-Masoch’s Carpathian watering place, the alliance they form for the purpose of humiliating the man as slave and casting Wanda as „domina“repeatedly shifts into being a game between Vanda and Novachek: who is dominating whom, when and how? This goes round in circles and is entertaining enough but gradually becomes repetitive.
That the play nevertheless works is due to director Adrienne Ferguson who whips her actors into a never-ending frenzy in Lothar Hüttling’s functionally neutral space; Mark Elstob is convincing as the arrogant „Man“, gradually forced to his knees; the evening nevertheless belongs to Georgia Kerr; not only does she look remarkable in her black-laced lingerie, she also possesses power and presence on stage to a degree remarkable in an actor so young. Her Wanda-Venus pulls out all the stops, is often subtle, at times foolhardy, at others completely in control, sometimes naive, then again profound; she repeatedly surprises us with a furioso tour between the play’s many levels, gradually gaining the upper hand… no, the man doesn’t stand a chance for a moment! Neither does the audience which bursts into relieved applause at the end in a state of exhaustion.

Renate Wagner
29.01.15

THEATER-TIPP

Venus in Fur at Vienna’s English Theatre

“Don’t fuck with a goddess!” Vanda (Georgia Kerr) stands triumphantly over Thomas (Mark Elstob), a sorry heap of misery, a man whom fair Venus would appear to have totally under her control. And yet, it remains open, even at the end, who is really holding the reins.
Adrienne Ferguson directs this two-hander by David Ives, based upon Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s 1870 novella, „Venus in Fur“, as an impassioned struggle for power, as a battle of the sexes in which reality and fiction become entwined to the point of being indistinguishable (…)

A Veritable Goddess
The entire action takes place in a sparingly decorated space (Lothar Hüttling), perhaps a theatre, perhaps an empty stage. The ever-shifting balance of power between Vanda and Thomas is accentuated by effective lighting effects. Vanda first appears in an inappropriate SM-outfit; as the evening progresses, she pulls out one contrasting costume after another from her bag until, finally, at the climax, she appears before an amazed Thomas in a fur stole. This array of gradually changing costumes reflects the change in Vanda herself who is far from being in any way dumb; she has complete command of her text, background knowledge of the situation in the play and is able to analyse critically the question of domination. Georgia Kerr is remarkably convincing in her portrayal of the many facets of this fascinating, riveting character. She is the evening’s star. Bravo! Mark Elstob is convincing as the initially arrogant, but deep down masochistic director; he is splendidly pathetic and completely authentic.

A Narrow Line.
As a result of this persistent struggle for power between the sexes, the play is indeed captivating. Who is manipulating whom? The person holding the whip or the person whose craving for subordination initially kindles a desire to dominate, to humiliate? Does a woman, what’s more, have to become a domina, a witch in order to hold her own at the side of a man?

This is a fascinating, wonderfully acted production which no one should miss!

Jolanthe Pantak
05.02.2015