{"product_id":"venus-in-fur-a-play-9780810128224","title":"Venus in Fur: A Play","description":"\u003cp\u003eA young playwright, Thomas, has written an adaptation of the 1870 novel \u003ci\u003eVenus in Fur\u003c\/i\u003e by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (after whom the term \"masochism\" was coined); the novel is the story of an obsessive adulterous relationship between a man and the mistress to whom he becomes enslaved. At the end of a long day in which the actresses Thomas auditions fail to impress him, in walks Vanda, very late and seemingly clueless, but she convinces him to give her a chance. As they perform scenes from Thomas's play, and Vanda the actor and Vanda the character gradually take control of the audition, the lines between writer, actor, director, and character begin to blur. Vanda is acting . . . or perhaps she sees in Thomas a masochist, one who desires fantasy in \"real life\" while writing fantasies for a living.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAn exploration of gender roles and sexuality, in which desire twists and turns in on itself, \u003ci\u003eVenus in Fur\u003c\/i\u003e is also a witty, unsettling look at the art of acting-onstage and off.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eDavid Ives's plays include two evenings of one-act comedies, \u003ci\u003eAll in the Timing\u003c\/i\u003e (win­ner of the Outer Critics Circle Award) and \u003ci\u003eTime Flies\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as \u003ci\u003eNew Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza; Is He Dead?\u003c\/i\u003e (adapted from Mark Twain); Irving Berlin's \u003ci\u003eWhite Christmas\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003ePolish Joke\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eAncient History\u003c\/i\u003e. He has also adapted Cor­neille's \u003ci\u003eThe Liar\u003c\/i\u003e, Molière's \u003ci\u003eThe School for Lies\u003c\/i\u003e, and Regnard's \u003ci\u003eLe Légataire universel\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Northwestern University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50656057590034,"sku":"9780810128224","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_5dd9e6e9-d6de-45bd-a223-77c5640c0962.jpg?v=1733383700","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/venus-in-fur-a-play-9780810128224","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}