When: Tue., Aug. 19, Fri., Aug. 22, Mon., Aug. 25, Thu., Aug. 28 and Sat., Aug. 30 2014
Oh, how I love David Ives! He’s a master wordsmith with a big brain, a wicked funny bone and laser-sharp insight into what makes society tick. That’s why I didn’t want to miss Venus in Fur at Festival Antigonish, and why I’m so delighted that it’s an A-1 production. Geneviève Steele, as Vanda, the would-be actress who is not what she seems, doffs and dons clothing and accents with both precision and abandon. Steele gives a tour de force performance, brilliantly capturing Wanda’s mercurial changes. Jeff Schwager hold his own as the misogynistic, smitten playwright Thomas and he sizzles as Kushemski, the masochistic nobleman in Thomas’s script. The twists and turns in this play are expertly navigated through Ed Thomason’s fine direction. Such a smart and sexy way to explore gender politics. —Kate Watson