Venus is a 1996 play written by American playwright Suzan-Lori Parks about the life of Khoekhoe woman Sarah Baartman. Set during the 19th century, the play opens in South Africa where Baartman was born, before transitioning to Europe as Baartman begins to perform in freak shows in London. The play then transitions to Paris where she continues her freak show act before dying in 1815 after being under the study of a group of French scientists led by Georges Cuvier.[1] Her deceased body becomes the subject of a pseudoscientific autopsy that focuses on Baartman's steatopygia– a condition which Cuvier (who appears as the Baron Docteur in Venus), uses to his academic advantage.[1] Parks' work is not intended to be historically accurate, but rather uses the concept of Baartman's career to explore colonialism, racialization, and the historical sexualization of Black women;[2] as Parks explains, "most of it's fabricated... It's questioning the history of history... It embraces the unrecorded truth."[3] Venus won 2 OBIE Awards in 1995-1996.[4]
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