The final version of the Venus in Fur poster required a simple red glaze covering the whole image. This solution made the hair color indistinguishable and the flesh color could be anything in the deep red glow. Red also brings up thoughts of the red light district which I have never been to but have heard about.
The mail lead in Venus in Fur is Thomas, who is directing a play based on an 1870 novella Venus In Furs by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch about a man longing to be dominated and humiliated by the right woman. Masoch’s last name gave birth to the phrase masochism.
Thomas had spent the whole day auditioning ordinary actresses who just were not right for the part. He was about to go home in defeat when a woman bursts into the room out of the pouring rain.
She had a horrible time getting to the audition with some random man rubbing up against her in the subway and her high heals got caught in a grate. She was visibly annoyed but managed to change gears to apologize for being late and convince Thomas to stay for this audition because she knew she was perfect for the part.
Vanda quickly gets out of her disheveled wet garb into costume. The male actor who had been reading lines opposite the actresses auditioning that day had already left, so Thomas stood in and read that part which he knew by heart since he had written it.
What follows is an unexpected power play as the actress not only knew every line but she knew the directors fiancé from working out in the gym. She seduced the director who became visibly excited, but she then dominated every scene and him as well. Vanda first massaged his male ego and then stomped on it and Thomas yearned to be dominated. I was left wondering if the actress had gone off script as they played their roles all too realistically.
There were dozens of performances on YouTube by actresses performing Vanda monologues. It is no wonder actresses are attracted to this play where the woman is empowered, and takes control of every scene. I wonder how many men are on YouTube reading monologues from Thomas as he whimpers and yearns to be punished.
Venus in Fur ran at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater through March 3, 2024. The Orlando Shakespeare production starred Walter Kmiec and Tracie Lane. I was relieved to see that Tracie actually looked very much like the fair skinned actress whose chest and lips I had cast for the poster. Her hair was shorter and less curly, but you could not see those details in the red-light version of the poster.