In 1782, Choderlos de Laclos' novel of sex, intrigue and betrayal in pre-revolutionary France scandalized the world. Two hundred years later, in 1985, Christopher Hampton's stage adaptation became an award-winning sensation in London's West End and on Broadway, followed by the Academy Award-winning film Dangerous Liaisons.
Former lovers, La Marquise de Merteuil and Le Vicomte de Valmont compete in games of seduction and revenge. These merciless aristocrats toy with the hearts and reputations of innocents. Merteuil incites Valmont to corrupt the convent-educated Cecile de Volanges before her wedding night but Valmont has other designs. His target is the peerlessly virtuous and happily married Madame de Tourvel.
Josie Rourke's acclaimed production transfers to Broadway after a sold-out engagement at London's Donmar Warehouse which ended earlier this year and starred Janet McTeer. The production was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Revival.
Tony Award winners Janet McTeer and Liev Schreiber will return to Broadway this Fall in the Donmar Warehouse production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton, directed by the Donmar's Artistic Director Josie Rourke.
Schreiber's Valmont is disengaged and stiff instead of smooth and sexy. He looks uncomfortable and out of place in a period wig and dressy attire. McTeer gives an authoritative performance as the devilish Merteuil, but she has zero chemistry with Schreiber. The real find of this production is Sørensen, a Danish actress, who makes for a vulnerable and beautiful Tourvel.
Therefore, any production of this play requires Valmont to have a palpable ticker. Simply put, you just don't believe that here. Schreiber, handsome devil though he may be, just does not appear to have enough skin in the game. There is a listlessness to this performance - which is problematic since the basic equipment required of even the lowest tier of Casanova is great enthusiasm for the task at hand. Schreiber seems to want to expend the minimum amount of energy, nothing really beyond his probing hand and fingers, which works against the operating procedure of a smooth-tongued seducer whose flattering charm is his principal weapon. More problematic yet, the crucial turn-key scene in the play where Valmont's true feelings and insecurities are revealed feels no different from any other.
1987 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
2008 | Broadway |
Roundabout Revival Broadway |
2015 | West End |
Donmar Warehouse Production West End |
2016 | Broadway |
Donmar Warehouse Broadway Revival Production Broadway |
Videos