The National Theatre revives Christopher Hampton‘s Les Liaisons Dangereuses, first performed at the RSC in 1985, and adapted for the screen in 1988 as Dangerous Liaisons.
It’s a familiar play for Lesley Manville, here cast as the Marquise de Merteuil. She originated the role of Cécile at Stratford and was the lead in the 2022 Starz prequel to the piece.
Aidan Turner joins her as the dissolute Vicomte de Valmont, her former lover who still seeks her approval like a loyal puppy, regardless of how many times he is abused.
They concoct a plot to take revenge on a wrong done, which involves Valmont’s seduction of the virginal Cécile (Hannah van der Westhuysen), a difficult obstacle to get past to our more modern eyes.
The original novel by Pierre de Laclos dates back to the 18th century and the intrigue in the French aristocracy. Even the queen, Marie Antoinette, owned a copy, albeit with a blank cover.
Sex, power and position are the themes in Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Love has nothing to do with it; in fact, it spells destruction. When Valmont falls for the married Madame de Tourvel (Monica Barbaro in her theatre debut), his world starts to shake.
Director Marianne Elliott, set designer Rosanna Vize (a lot of mirrors, complicit and voyeuristic), and choreographer Tom Jackson Greaves have created a world where appearances matter, and plots are hatched behind closed doors.
Turner lacks the loucheness you may associate with the role (John Malkovich and Colin Firth (Valmont, 1989) in the films). Instead, he’s foolish, reckless, always headlong in pursuit of a conquest.
Manville’s Madame is a little older than usually cast, which gives her an edge to her cruelty and desire to stay at the head of the pack. An act two scene, contrasting her with the newly awakened Cécile, is almost tragic.
Also notable in the cast are Gabrielle Drake as Valmont’s ageing aunt, and Darragh Hand as Cécile’s young suitor, the Chevalier Danceny. Lucia Chocarro as courtesan Emilie is sensual, strong and spirited.
Les Liaisons Dangereuses understands completely how the French social-climbed and kept their well-oiled machine working pre-Revolution. In this production, it gives the women a little more agency, but it is still a tawdry tale of manipulation and coercion.
That said, the production is beautifully staged, cast, and directed, and there is a strong chemistry between the brilliant Manville and Turner. As the huge chandelier in the space rises, lowers, and revolves, lives crash together.
Hampton and Elliott open up the bedrooms, hallways and even the sacred spaces of the elite. Sometimes the effect is hard to watch; sometimes there is a caustic comedy threading through the story.
By the end, we see that the circle of conspiracy and sexuality moves quickly, viciously, and without remorse.
I’m giving this four stars.
Les Liaisons Dangereuses continues at the National Theatre Lyttleton until 6 Jun – tickets here.
Photo credit: Sarah Lee