Tag Archives: Venus Theatre

The Ravens at Venus Theatre, Nov 2-26

The Ravens at Venus Theatre, Nov 2-26

THE RAVENS
By Alana Valentine
Directed by Deborah Randall

November 2 – 26, 2017
Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8pm; Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm.

Location: Venus Theatre.

PARENTAL ADVISORY: Adult themes.

The Ravens is about Kira, a trying-to- be-ex sex worker in Kings Cross, Sydney, Australia. When she receives a large victim’s compensation payout, deciding what to do with the money becomes more of a problem than a relief. A friend from her former life feels that she is ‘owed’ by Kira, and moves back into her life and her flat. Then a chance meeting with Nina, a young social work student working at the local chocolate shop, seems like it might give Kira the courage and support she needs to finally get the violent Marg out of her life. An encounter with one of Nina’s old age clients at a nursing home focuses Kira’s determination but now she wants to help her friend Nancy, who is still working at a brothel but living in a dominating lesbian relationship. Finally Nina suggests that she might use the money for her and Nancy to put on a play – a version of Shakespeare’s poem The Phoenix and the Turtle. It’s a routine Kira and Nancy used to do as a striptease for an old client – can they learn to change themselves, phoenix like, into something other than they have been for so long? Can love – of life, of self, of friends – be resurrected and transformed by art? As an evocative radio play, The Ravens won the 2015 BBC International Radio Writing Award from the BBC World Service. Venus Theatre is delighted to be presenting the world premiere of the stage play – a visceral, provocative work of fierce insight and compassion for womens’ struggle out of violence.

Tickets are $40 or $20 for Friend of Venus. Buy tickets here.

Aglaonike’s Tiger at Venus Theatre, Sep 7-Oct 1

Aglaonike’s Tiger at Venus Theatre, Sep 7-Oct 1

AGLAONIKE’S TIGER by Claudia Barnett

September 7 – October 1, 2017
Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8pm; Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm.

Location: Venus Theatre.

Aglaonike, the first female astronomer, could predict lunar eclipses, but her science was suspect because she was a woman. She therefore billed herself as a sorceress and claimed she could draw down the moon. Inspired by her unsung history, this coming-of-age play follows the protagonist through a series of challenges, both magical and scientific. Drawing on ancient Greek traditions and postmodern performance trends, Aglaonike’s Tiger is stylized and visual and uses puppets and masks to explore political, ecological, and scientific themes.

Tickets are $40 or $20 for Friend of Venus. Buy tickets here.

Tunnel Vision at Venus Theatre, May 11-Jun 4

Tunnel Vision at Venus Theatre, May 11-June 4

TUNNEL VISION
By Andrea Lepcio

May 11 – June 4, 2017
Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8pm; Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm.

Location: Venus Theatre.

A multi-layered celebration of the Feminine, TUNNEL VISION is ultimately a journey of acceptance and redemption, played out in a non-traditional theatre space from which truth, purpose and love unexpectedly emerge. Key to the action is the live construction of a sculptural art installation. Two female characters enter an unidentified space. It is unfamiliar to them and they are unfamiliar with each other. Unsure how they got here, they quickly find themselves “stuck” in this liminal space. The two struggle to maintain their composure –anything to avoid confronting the circumstances that lie beneath their arrival at this “place” or admit their burgeoning attraction to each other. The play considers many of the daily challenges women face as well as those issues that are, typically, solely female: the struggle to balance motherhood with the desire to have a career, the stigma that comes with not choosing the traditional path assigned our gender, the hypercritical judgment we place on ourselves in comparison to our female peers, the difficulty we find in truly loving ourselves, and the fear that sometimes comes in loving each other. TUNNEL VISION is ultimately a journey of acceptance and redemption, from which truth, purpose and love unexpectedly emerge.

Tickets are $40 or $20 for Friend of Venus. Buy tickets here.

The Methuen Drama Books of Suffrage Plays at Venus Theatre, Mar 16-Apr 9

The Methuen Drama Books of Suffrage Plays at Venus Theatre, Mar 16-Apr 9

SELECTIONS FROM: The Methuen Drama Books of Suffrage Plays
Edited by Naomi Paxton

By Cicely Hamilton, Christopher St. John, Beatrice Harraden, Evelyn Glover, H. V. Esmond, Mrs. Holloway Phibbs, H. M. Paull, and George Middleton

March 16 – April 9, 2017
Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 3pm.

Location: Venus Theatre.

Suffrage plays are Edwardian comedies created to entertain women as the picketed and protested for the right to vote at the other turn of the century. Quick, witty, and entertaining, these plays were often inspired from real events. American women went to England where they learned the tactics of the Suffrage women. This included such activities as ballooning over Parliament and ripping the greens of the golf course with the words, “No Vote. No Golf” among many many other things. For the Americans having gathered every detail of Congressmen and Senators right down to the names of the pets, children, wives, and favorite foods and vacationing spots, to no avail after decades of kind attempts, this new approach would prove both controversial and effective. Erased from history for a century, Venus brings these plays back to life to celebrate the strong shoulders of women on which we all stand today. “There were over 400 female playwrights in Britain between the years 1900 and 1920, a period which witnessed enormous political and social change.”

Tickets are $40 or $20 for Friend of Venus. Buy tickets here.

Auditions for Venus Theatre 2017 Season, Feb 12, 13 & 15

Auditions for Venus Theatre 2017 Season, Feb 12, 13 & 15

AUDITIONS FOR THE 2017 SEASON:
Sunday, February 12th from 11-3pm | Monday, February 13th from 6-9pm | Wednesday, February 15th from 6-9pm

Location: Venus Theatre.

SEEKING ALL TYPES

Please prepare a 2 minute monologue and be receptive to taking adjustments.

EMAIL: submissionsofvenus@gmail.com:
* Headshot and resume
* Day and time preferred (on the ½ hours)

Venus Theatre’s 2017 season:
March 16 – April 9, 2017: SELECTIONS FROM: The Methuen Drama Books of Suffrage Plays, Edited by Naomi Paxton
May 11 – June 4, 2017: TUNNEL VISION by Andrea Lepcio
September 7 – October 1, 2017: AGLAONIKE’S TIGER by Claudia Barnett
November 2 -26, 2017: THE RAVENS by Alana Valentine

Venus Theatre is among the longest running women’s theaters in the world.