How lucky are we that we get to see National Theatre plays on our own cinema screens, thanks to National Theatre Live?
The first ones I watched were two alternative portrayals of Frankenstein released for free via Youtube during the pandemic. Since then, I’ve enjoyed watching Ralph Fiennes boldly portray Robert Moses, Phoebe Waller Bridge’s Fleabag (which succeeded in bringing me to tears), and Rosamund Pike ignite the stage in Inter Alia.
I’ve never been disappointed by a single one of them. If you are watching a National Theatre Live play, you are guaranteed to see the best of the very best.
Les Liaisons Dangereuses (LLD) is no exception.
We witness the diabolical outfall of two appalling people engaged in a contest of hearts.
Marquise de Merteuil (Lesley Manville) and Vicomte de Valmont (Aidan Turner) are cynical, hardened aristocrats who amuse themselves by seducing others and then discarding them. Often, they even transform it into a game calculated to bring ruin to as many of those around them as possible.
Merteuil spies an opportunity to wreck revenge on her ex husband by publicly scandalising his young future bride with the help of Valmont. But concurrently, Valmont relishes the challenge of winning the affections of another betrothed woman.
Valmont and Merteuil’s antics soon cast ripple effects on their own social circles as their friendship dissolves into rivalry.
This iteration of LLD, from Christopher Hampton’s celebrated 1985 adaptation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ classic 1782 epistolary novel, is directed by Marianne Elliott (Angels in America, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, War Horse).
Sharp, intelligent, scalding wit regularly drew laughter from a delighted audience. Aidan Turner (Rivals) as Valmont is exceptionally funny, blending despicable calculating charm with his clowning about on the stage in boundless energy. The chemistry he holds with Merteuil feels natural, genuinely like a deep love and respect that has formed over years.
BAFTA, Olivier and Tony award winner Lesley Manville (The Crown, Phantom Thread) is superb as Merteuil, and it is particularly fitting she returns to this stage having previously played the naive Cécile de Volanges in 1985! Manville initially expressed hesitancy at taking on the role given she is 28 years older than Turner, which the director in her brilliance decided to use as a device in this play to explore Merteuil’s vulnerability masked under cold pride.
The play all up is a fantastic exploration of vulnerability and how it is exploited by the characters. The characters are complex, flawed, duplicitous, and their evolution over the course of the play is clear. This applies equally to Cécile de Volanges and Madame de Tourvel, played by Hannah van der Westhuysen and Monica Barbaro, who are outstanding in their expression of innocence lost and exquisite dancing.
LLD is thoroughly modern and confronting even for a play conceived during the 18th century. There are depictions of sexual assault and miscarriage. It unveils moral corruption through the machinations of French aristocracy ahead of the French Revolution. Women suffocated by a system where men hold dominion over their lives find ways to twist that system to suit them, especially Merteuil.
It is also visually spectacular. There’s frenetic energy in stunningly choreographed dancing expressing the urgency of the story, complemented by exquisite costumes and set design. The stage felt saturated by colour so deeply rich you could taste it.
This all culminates, predictably, in heartbreak and the ending felt very fitting even in its ruthlessness. There is also a twist to it that longstanding fans of the play might be surprised by.
9 out of 10 stars from me
Les Liaisons Dangereuses is out now at Luna Cinemas
*By Gayle O’Leary. If you’d like to catch up on more by Gayle here on Fremantle Shipping News, look right here!
~ If you’d like to COMMENT on this or any of our stories, don’t hesitate to email our Editor.
~ WHILE YOU’RE HERE –
PLEASE HELP US TO GROW FREMANTLE SHIPPING NEWS
FSN is a reader-supported, volunteer-assisted online magazine all about Fremantle. Thanks for helping to keep FSN keeping on!
~ Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to receive your free copy of The Weekly Edition of the Shipping News each Friday!
