Venus in Fur 

Review by That Guy In The Foyer, John Doherty

★★★★★

Adelaide Fringe. Presented by Wil King.

Holden Street Theatres, The Arch. 

Until March 20, 2022

Venus in Fur is a breathtaking tour de force, pure and simple. 

A comedy rendered serious theatre by Daniel Lammin’s adept direction, and superb performances from the production’s producer, Wil King, and Bridget Gao-Hollitt. This interpretation of David Ive’s writing crackles with post #metoo tension.

We open with a playwright, Thomas (King), at his wits end. Having spent a day futilely auditioning actresses for the lead role of Wanda von Dunajew for his stage adaptation of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s  novel, Venus in Fur, Thomas is heading home. (If you made the connection between Masoch and masochism, you’re right on the mark.) Enter Vanda Jordan (Gao-Hollitt), a charmingly brash actress, very late for her audition; just another vacuous ingénue.

What emerges is a remarkable power struggle as the savvy, capable young actress effectively lures Thomas into playing Severin von Kusiemski for an entire read-through of his play. 

Wil King is superb as Thomas, a gentle man with unconscious undercurrents of misogyny- one might argue this may be embedded somewhere deep in many men like him. King’s portrayal of a playwright/ director coaxed into acting and, in doing so, engaging in a sexually charged power struggle, is brilliant.

And Bridget Gao-Hollitt is sublime as Vanda, elegantly slipping between the young, ambitious, empowered actress, and an 18th century countess lured into a sadomasochistic relationship. There is something about Gao-Hollitt reminiscent of Cate Blanchett in her earliest ventures, something rare, permeating this portrayal of a complex young woman of this post #metoo era. 

The chemistry between these two fine actors is electrifying.

This is ninety minutes of theatre at its finest, provoking us in its portrayal of power imbalances and compelling us to consider how dominance and submission works in the workplace, the street, theatre and the bedroom.

Venus in Fur plays at Holden Street Theatres until March 20th. 

To my mind, this is the show to see this final week of the Fringe.