| Venus In Furs | Elbow Room |
|
|
|
|
 “In Love, there is no equality.”
Elbow Room presents a sparkling new adaptation of the novel that lodged its author’s name in the Western psyche forever.
Bratislava, Central Europe 1870. Severin – 25, artistic, born into wealth - has the world at his feet, but no love to inspire him, until he encounters an artist greater than himself. Wanda’s canvas is the human soul. Her tools are beauty, desire, and degradation. Severin will be her masterpiece.
Venus In Furs inspired the diagnosis of a whole new category of sexual perversion. Since the 1800s, masochism has largely shrugged off its unsavoury reputation, attaining a kind of underground ‘glamour’. Today it has well and truly been embraced by the mainstream, its ubiquity obvious in the burgeoning popularity of all forms of fetishistic entertainment, particularly the recent resurgence of burlesque. In revisiting the original text, Elbow Room brings to the stage the source of an entire genre of sexual gratification and entertainment in a timely reminder of the continuing influence of Sacher-Masoch’s novel.
Neal Harvey’s stage adaptation focuses, not on the implements of pain and pleasure that Wanda and Severin employ on each other, but on their consequences. As socially acceptable ‘definitions’ of words like ‘couple’ and ‘relationship’ change and new technologies affect he way people interact sexually and emotionally, just where does our emotional responsibility towards other human beings begin and end? Through the timeless interactions of these two lovers, this stage adaptation of Venus In Furs asks questions about the roles of dependence, mutuality, love and trust in relationships today.
ABOUT ELBOW ROOM
New to Melbourne audiences, Elbow Room have recently relocated after honing their craft in Brisbane for the last several years. Formed out of long-standing collaborations in the Queensland theatre scene, the principals of the company have been involved as individual actors, writers, producers and directors in productions for the Brisbane Festival, QTC, La Boite and a host of independent shows. Most recently, Elbow Room staged a Matilda Award-winning production of Marcel Dorney's New Royal in 2006, before making the move to Melbourne in 2007.
The Theatreworks 2008 Company Initiative Program and Elbow Room present
a stage adaptation of
Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s
Venus In Furs
Adapted for the stage by Neal Harvey
Directed by Marcel Dorney
With Angus Grant and Karen Roberts
Lighting Design by Danny Pettingill
Sound Design by Ben Eltham and Dani Kirby
Venue: Theatreworks, 14 Acland Street St. Kilda
Dates: May 1 - 18
Times: Tues - Sat @ 8.00pm; Sun @ 6.00pm
Tickets: $25 Full / $20 Conc.
Bookings: 9534 3388 / www.theatreworks.org.au
|
|
Contact: |
Back
|
|
|
|
