Les Liaisons Dangereuses – National Theatre, London

Sparks fly in the National Theatre’s production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, thanks to the chemistry between its leads.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses

What is it these days with the National Theatre? It can’t be that every play, if produced in a fitting manner, is naturally three hours long. So what gives? Unless it’s me? Maybe going to so many fringe and smaller productions has demonstrated that meaningful storytelling can happen in the hour to hour and a half range. Do I feel I get twice the storytelling and theatrical magic from a three hour play? Not really, I mostly get tired in advance just thinking about it. Especially on a week where there were tube strikes to contend with to get home. Not that anyone could have foreseen that back when we booked tickets.

The moral of the story is that the earlier start times (7PM in this case) are probably the difference between me going or not going. But I would love to see something short and snappy at the National Theatre. OK, that’s my rant over. On to the play now, which I did actually enjoy. Les Liaisons Dangereuses was originally an epistolary novel, written by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos in pre-Revolutionary France. Racy for the time, and still pretty racy now, it sheds light on the amorality and depravity of the aristrocracy through the story of two former lovers and the damage they do. If you’re a millennial, as I am, you might recognise it as the source material for Cruel Intentions.

In this adaptation by Christopher Hampton, the Marquise de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont are played by Lesley Manville and Aidan Turner respectively. Aidan Turner in a sexy role is a clear bid for the Poldark crowd, but he is very good in this so it’s also sensible casting. Without trying to play the character as pure evil, his reactions are so realistic you believe that someone could be so cruel just for the sport of it.

Worth Staying Up For, All The Same

And sport is a key theme in this production. I realise I haven’t told you yet what these former lovers are up to. Corrupting young women and getting revenge, mostly. Theirs is a world where relationships between men and women operate on two levels. The marriages that cement wealth and social position, and the affairs that are a separate type of social currency. Merteuil and Valmont spend the play initiating ingenue Cécile Volanges (Hannah van der Westhuysen) into this world, and corrupting Madame de Tourvel (Monica Barbaro) until she leaves it.

The design very cleverly reflects this idea of a game which is actually a blood sport. Rosanna Vize‘s set is surrounded on three sides by mirrors, with sensual Rococo art hanging above. Servants (costume design by Natalie Roar) wear black mesh over their heads. For the characters they are merely furniture, until they enter the action by betraying their master or mistress. Movement sequences by Tom Jackson Greaves (which I like although they undoubtedly contribute to the running time) further the notion of sex as weapon, game, pleasure, pain and – if you’re unlucky – love.

Overall, Marianne Elliott brings everything together into a cohesive and stylish whole. The chemistry between the leads is exceptional and, if you can face the lack of space, the first couple of rows of seats allow you to see every expression that flits across their faces. Despite my complaints, this is a production that is worth staying up for.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3.5/5

Les Liaisons Dangereuses on until 6 June 2026