Venus In Fur: Game of Thrones' Natalie Dormer gives electric performance in new West End play

Despite shooting to fame as Margaery Tyrell in hit TV fantasy series ‘Game Of Thrones‘, Natalie Dormer is no stranger to the theatre world.

In fact, the 35-year-old actress has regularly won critical acclaim for her stage performances, and her new West End show, ‘Venus In Fur’, is staggering proof as to why.

Starring as Vanda Jordan in the two-hander play, Dormer gives an electric performance opposite David Oakes’ Thomas Novachek, with the pair together creating a brilliantly understated piece of theatre that is sure to enthral its audience night after night.

‘Venus In Fur’ follows Novachek’s attempt to cast the leading lady in his adaptation of 1870 novel ‘Venus In Furs’, with Dormer’s Vanda bursting into his office after hours and begging for the chance to audition.

Vanda is uneducated, brash, and speaks before thinking, however, when a reluctant Novachek finally allows her to perform she switches- embodying the character of Wanda von Dunayev, much to everybody’s surprise.

What follows is a captivating play-within-a-play as Vanda and Thomas read through the ‘sado-masochist’ script with regular intervals where they come back to reality and Vanda lets slip her astonishing insights into the novel and the unjust treatment of her character – leading to a truly unpredictable and memorising climax.

Throughout the play’s 90-minute run-time, Dormer is able to switch between her two hugely different characters with ease; seamlessly transitioning from brash, Brooklyn Vanda to well-spoken, European Wanda seemingly without a second thought and without ever losing her charming comedic timing.

Despite spending the majority of the play in sexy lingerie, Dormer is able to maintain dominance on stage as her character fights to shift the power balance between herself/ Wanda and Thomas/ Severin von Kushemski.

Oakes also gives a convincing performance as Thomas gradually, and obviously, falls in lust with the wildly passionate Vanda, portraying a certain vulnerability as the play progresses, which was noticeably absent when we were first introduced to his exasperated character.

The actors have an impressive connection as the only two people on stage and it doesn’t take long for the audience to become engrossed in the two stories, which unfold at a the perfect pace – giving the audience enough time to comprehend what is going on but not taking so long that patrons start to get bored.

The themes of misogyny and sexual injustice in Patrick Marber’s production of ‘Venus In Fur’ felt particularly timely given the current climate of the acting world, with the play opening its doors amid a wave of shocking sexual assault allegations against disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein – making Vanda’s audition all the more chilling… And the shock finale that little bit more satisfying.

★★★★

‘Venus in Fur’ is at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket until 9 December, click here for more information.