Les Liaisons Dangereuses (March 1995)
Aberdeen Arts Centre
Les Liaisons Dangereuses charts the seduction be Le Vicomte de Valmont of both the young, voluptuous and willing Cecile and the demure yet passionate Madame de Tourvell. Valmont begins the play as a cynical pleasure seeker, proud of his reputation as a seducer. He is encouraged in his enterprises by his former mistress La Marquise de Merteuil who would seem to share his cynicism, but who has an ulterior motive.
Set in France among the aristocrats before the revolution this is nevertheless a play for all time about sexual desire and manipulation. Ending in tragedy, Valmont and Tourvell are ultimately destroyed by their passion. Christopher Hampton's adaptation converts the dramatic potential of the Laclos masterpiece into a gripping stage play.
“...amateur, purely in the sense that the talented cast of Phoenix Theatre do not get paid for their efforts...”
