David Ives' Venus in Fur gives us an interesting theatrical contrapuntal duel between an actress and a writer. It requires a suspension of disbelief from the start but works dramatically. As one who has auditioned thousands, I can tell you that in reality, if an extravagantly flummoxed actress came in late for an audition, and insisted on being seen, in the interest of getting rid of such a neurotic personality, I'd let her do her two minute monologue, or read two pages of my script, say "Thank you very much," and usher her out. But then there would be no play, and we wouldn't see the extraordinary actress Nina Arianda transform herself into a cool, self-contained semi-dominatrix with a British accent who can subjugate the man in charge, and then flip back into a flibberty-gibbet.
The capricious Ives has fun with us in this psychological battle with a surreal, "Theater of the Absurd" flavor.
Wes Bentley is fine as the weaker adversary; sexy costumes by Anita Yavich are exciting, flamboyant; John Lee Beatty's set and Peter Kaczorowski's lighting work perfectly on this stage with the audience on three sides, and Walter Bobbie has directed with flair.
Venus in Fur is totally engaging as the conflict and theatricality escalate. It's a fun evening of sharp thrusts and parries performed with vigor and style.
