BRATTLEBORO — Shoot the Moon theater company launches its inaugural season with performances of the dark and sexy comedy Venus in Fur by David Ives. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12-13 and Feb. 19-20 at the Hooker-Dunham Theater & Gallery, 139 Main St.
Director Joshua Moyse says Shoot the Moon chose this audience favorite because it is a fun and provocative night out, particularly around Valentine's Day.
At first glance, Ives' laugh-out-loud play is about the theater world itself. The setting is an audition room where writer/director Thomas Novachek (played by Will Howell), meets struggling young actress, Vanda Jordan (Xoe Perra, who was recently seen in Shoot the Moon's production of Dracula.)
Thomas is eager to go home for the day, while Vanda is adamant about auditioning for Thomas' new play, based on the classic erotic novel Venus in Fur.
What happens next is a raucous and electrifying game of cat and mouse, where reality, illusion, seduction, power, and love become blurred.
“I chose this play to launch our 2016 season because it's something guaranteed to delight audiences during our long Vermont winters. The play is sexy and filled with wry humor,” says Moyse.
Ives is best known for writing the collection of comedic one-acts All in the Timing, some of which have been performed around the greater Brattleboro area.
Venus in Fur was ranked as one of the “Year's Best Plays” in 2010 by The New York Times, The New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, New York magazine, USA Today, The Associated Press, Newsday, TimeOut NY, Bloomberg News and NY 1.
The Times described it as “90 minutes of good, kinky fun.”
Alastair Follansbee serves as stage manager for the production.