SINGAPORE — The Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) is kicking off its 20th anniversary season in the most provocative and sizzling way possible — a play that has “sado-masochism” written all over it. Sort of.

In Venus In Fur, the award-winning Broadway play-within-a-play by David Ives, an ambitious actress named Vanda auditions for a role in playwright-director Thomas’ adaptation of the novella Venus In Furs by Leopold Sacher-Masoch.

“The term ‘sado-masochism’ comes directly from Sacher-Masoch and his work, so it is literally the central theme of the play,” explained New York-based Indonesian director Ed Sylvanus Iskandar, who’s helming the production.

Ensuing onstage is a psycho-sexual power struggle heightened by sexual tension between the two protagonists — “all within the bounds of good taste, of course,” quipped Iskandar.

It’s a situation that is “absolutely plausible” in the world of theatre, he added. “The amount of competition in New York dictates an audition culture in which actors must find a way to be memorable.”

As a veteran of countless auditions herself, Steffanie Leigh, who plays Vanda, agreed. “The dynamics of an audition are fascinating when looking through this lens of dominance and submissiveness,” she said. “There is always status at play. The creative team behind the table has the power, and an actor comes in trying to win them over — hopefully switching the roles so that the creative team feels like they need the actor.”

Incidentally, Leigh is jumping into her role fresh from an applauded stint as Mary Poppins on Broadway, and she pointed out some similarities between two seemingly different roles. “They certainly aren’t the passive, helpless damsels that pop up in many stories. They both enter their respective world on a mission to change things. Whether to mend a dysfunctional family or to win an audition and bring a role to life that she knows she can play, they both set out with such clear, strong goals.”

What does Leigh’s co-actor Anson Mount, who plays Thomas, think of these kinds of audition scenarios?

“Well, I’m a man so I’m probably ill-equipped to answer that question! Funny enough, however, I just finished the first draft of a book on the acting business and I put this question to several female actresses. Most said they had never experienced a casting couch situation. Only one said that it existed, but that there was probably an equivalent ‘couch’ in Washington and in other professions as well,” shared Mount, who’s currently seen in the TV series Hell On Wheels on the Sundance Channel and, has just finished shooting for the upcoming actioner Non-Stop, which stars Julianne Moore and Liam Neeson.

“I didn’t get to work too much with Julianne, which is a shame because I’ve admired her work for years. But we were on the set together a good bit and she’s lovely. Liam is an absolute gem of a guy. The night of the table read he bought drinks for us. He’s a completely down-to-earth guy who came into the business almost by mistake. He used to drive a fork-lift in the Guinness factor in Belfast and you can tell. He has retained the humility and work ethic of a blue collar man. Love that guy.”

Venus In Fur runs from March 15 to 30, 8pm, DBS Arts Centre — Home Of SRT. Tickets from S$30 to S$60 from Sistic. Advisory: 16 years and above (Mature Content & Coarse Language).