Arts preview: Venus in Fur delivers dose of discipline

VENUS IN FUR
Sweet and Sour Productions

Masochism is in vogue, but according to Candice Moore, the success of E. L. James' erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey did not influence her decision to direct David Ives' Venus in Fur. "I didn't finish Fifty Shades, as it was more like Earl Grey [tea] to me," says Moore. "But the popularity of it won't hurt."

So to speak. Venus in Fur is a relatively new play, but actually anticipates the publication of James' book by more than a year, having premiered off-Broadway in January 2010. It was a hit on Broadway in 2011, and, of all places, in Singapore, earlier this year. It has also been filmed, in French, with Roman Polanski directing, and his wife, Emmanuelle Seigner, and Mathieu Amalric in the starring roles.

The play takes its title from the 1870 novel Venus in Furs by Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch, and has a cast of just two. Andrew Swift plays a theatre director who has adapted the novel for the stage, and is auditioning actresses for the role of Wanda Von Dunajew, the dominatrix who is the central character. Muriel Hoffman plays an actress called Vanda who has turned up for the audition. After an unpromising start, it emerges that she has an in-depth knowledge of the role, and the two characters establish a relationship which mirrors those in the novel.

It's not the kind of thing normally associated with the Hong Kong stage. "There were interesting reactions from people when I said I was putting it on in Hong Kong," says Moore. "Mainly positive, but some quite shocked.