Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Synopsis

In the glittering salons of 18th century France the Marquise de Merteuil is devising an ingenious plot, for which she will require the help of her lover, the Vicomte de Valmont, a man whose incredible powers of seduction are matched only by his ruthless instinct for intrigue. And so begins an electrifying sequence of longing, betrayal and lies. But what happens if, when out hunting for pure passion, one stumbles upon true love? The mesmerising tale of sexual power games is one of the most highly regarded dramas of the last decade, becoming an Oscar winning movie and a hit around the world.

Our Review:

26 April 2006

There is nothing very dangerous about the Royal Lyceum's liaison with Christopher Hampton's adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos' epistolary novel, set amidst the indolent French aristocracy just a few years before the French revolution.

It is as if director John Dove had rolled back the decades to the time when the Lyceum's audience's demanded little more than a well-told plot, a touch of titillation and a well-titivated cast; which is to say that this looks and sounds good, without ever getting inside what is being said on stage.

Dugald Bruce-Lockhart is in fine form as the pampered and promiscuous Vicomte de Valmont, who has set his heart on bedding the virtuous and monogamous Président de Tourvel (Candida Benson) who is staying at his aunt's country mansion while Tourvel's husband is away.

You can believe that Valmont's thrill is in the chase. So that when his ex-lover, the widowed Marquise de Merteuil (Tilly Blackwood), asks him to seduce and deflower Céci...

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