Adapted by: Christopher Hampton
Director: John Dove
Design: Michael Taylor
Lighting: Jeanine Davies
Fight Director: William Hobbs
DSM: Dan Travis

Cast: Candida Benson, Dugald Bruce-Lockhart, Tilly Blackwood, Alistair Gillies, Isabella Jarrett, James Mackenzie, Shonagh Price, Siobhan Reilly, Jim Webster-Stewart, Jo Tope, Catriona Robertson and Frances Ross.

When writing Les Liaison Dangereuses, Choderlos de Laclos set out to write something beyond the ordinary.  He dreamed of something that would echo over the world long after he had gone.  The story excites with its liberal helpings of decadence, manipulation, debauchery and sex and 250 years after it was written, the work is still a relevant exposé of the French aristocracy.

Set within the decadent landscape of 18th Century France, Le Vicomte de Valmont and La Marquise de Meurteuil, two irredeemable debauchees drive a plot of seduction, corruption, and emotional manipulation.  A classic predatory male, Valmont takes delight in tainting all that is pure with little remorse for his actions and less for his victims. Whilst Valmont climbs from bed to bed with ‘careerist dedication’, Meurteuil manipulates the manipulator with unparalleled precision; tempting him with carnal rewards should he help her exact her revenge on the Comte de Gercourt by seducing his fiance. Valmont accepts the Marquise's proposal somewhat coolly, since he already has his eyes on another prey, the highly religious Présidente de Tourvel, the chaste wife of a Member of Parliament.

Christopher Hampton’s adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses is wholly loyal to the novel and director John Dove makes a welcome return to The Lyceum with a beautifully crafted and restrained production.  Michael Taylors simplistic 18th Century drawing room is dripping with wealth with fantastic recreations of the ostentatious manor homes of the day and sets the mood perfectly for its overly indulgent inhabitants.

The pace of the piece is deliberately slow but can be forgiven as one feels quite charmed by the devilishly attractive and talented cast who seem to relish the text as if it were Chateu Neuf du Pape.  Tilly Blackwood’s Meurteuil is as delicious as she is cunning and when sparking against Dugald Bruce Lockhart’s Valmont Candida Benson’s portrayal of Presidentes struggle with her emotional infidelity is beautifully delivered.