Brighton revival - when seduction becomes a weapon

Ticket prices will be £10 for NVT members and £12 for non-members and are available through the NVT website at www.newventure.org.uk.

Spokesman Robert Dunkley said: “Dangerous Liaisons, the award-laden 1988 film, starred a plethora of talent including John Malkovich, Glenn Close and Michelle Pfeiffer. What some people may not know is that Christopher Hampton won the Oscar for the screenplay, adapting his stage adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos’s scandalous 1782 novel. Laclos had stated he wanted to write a novel that lived long in the memory, having little idea that almost 250 years later his adapted work would still be gracing stages and streamed into homes worldwide.

“Set in the lead-up to the French Revolution, the play centres on wealthy widow Madame de Merteuil and her ex-lover Vicomte de Valmont. Merteuil, smarting from a lover’s betrayal, hatches a plot to avenge the slight through master philanderer Valmont. ‘Love and Revenge: two of your favourites’, goads Merteuil. Valmont has set himself a different goal and refuses to get involved at first. The carnage that follows is born out of the two protagonists slashing their way through other people’s lives using seduction as a weapon – with tragic consequences for everyone involved.

“Hampton’s play is remarkable, taking the themes of love, sex, gender roles and the contemporary society and bringing them to electrifying life through the characters. Les Liaisons Dangereuses has whetted the appetite for audiences in Stratford, London, Broadway Sydney, and a revival at the Donmar Warehouse, showing the play’s global appeal.

“Mark Lester directs this, having previously directed the double bill of Lone Star and Laundry and Bourbon, Miss Julie, Turpin at NVT. He has also acted in many productions, most recently Farragut North. A superb cast includes Bridgett Ane Goddard as Merteuil, Neil Drew as Valmont and Charlotte Atkinson as Madame de Tourvel.”

The play will run at the New Venture Theatre, Brighton, from Friday, February 16-Saturday, February 24, including a matinee on Sunday, February 18.