Venus
Paperback, 168 pages ISBN: 9781559361354Publication Date:
1 Sep 1997
Size: 218mm x 139mm£19.99
First Staged:
Public Theater, New York, 1996

Venus

By Suzan-Lori Parks

Paperback £19.99

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  • OBIE Award for Playwriting - 1995-6

A bold exploration of colonisation and objectification, based on the true story of the 'Hottentot Venus'.

Sarah 'Saartjie' Baartman was an indigenous South African woman who - due principally to the large size of her buttocks - was exhibited as a freak-show attraction throughout 19th-century Europe. She became known as the 'Hottentot Venus', and was exploited by the doctor who loved her.

Suzan-Lori Parks' play Venus was first performed at the Public Theater, New York, in April 1996. It won the 1995-1996 OBIE Award for Playwriting.

'To make this woman the heroine of a serious tragedy is daring, dangerous – here is a play which treads the line between pathos and absurdity, which is very hard to do, a line walked by all the great dramatists, Shakespeare and Chekhov especially' Tony Kushner

Paperback,168 pages ISBN: 9781559361354Publication Date:
1 Sep 1997
Size: 218mm x 139mm£19.99

Also by Suzan-Lori Parks:

The America Play and other works
The Red Letter Plays
Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3)
365 Days/365 Plays
The Book of Grace
100 Plays for the First Hundred Days
Topdog/Underdog
White Noise

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