Games of love and lust in 18th century Paris play out on a stunningly stylized stage as the Gate Theatre presents Christopher Hampton’s award-winning play Les Liaisons Dangereuses from Thursday 25 February. Based on the classic French novel by Laclos, Hampton’s iconic, play tells the sordid tale of the cunning and confident Merteuil and the wickedly charming Valmont, two high-society rivals who use sex as a weapon to humiliate and destroy.
Christopher Hampton’s plays include The Talking Cure, White Chameleon, Tales >From Hollywood, and Total Eclipse. He has translated extensively from Chekhov, Ibsen, and Moliére, as well as Odon von Horvath, and Yasmina Reza (Art, Life (x) 3 and God of Carnage). He wrote the books for the musicals Dracula and Sunset Boulevard and has won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, and the New York Theatre Critics Circle Award. His screenplays include The Quiet American, Dangerous Liaisons, and Imagining Argentina, which he also directed. Hampton’s film and television plaudits include an Academy Award, two BAFTAs, and Special Jury Prize at Cannes.
First performed in London in 1985 starring Alan Rickman, Juliet Stevenson and Lindsay Duncan, Les Liaisons Dangereuses received the Evening Standard and Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play before going on to Broadway, for a staggering 149 performances, receiving numerous awards including the prestigious New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Foreign Play.
The Gate is delighted to have brought together a stellar cast under the direction of Michael Barker-Caven, whose previous works for the Gate include Anna Karenina, Play, Old Times, The Shape of Things and Therese Raquin. Making a welcome return to the Gate is Nick Dunning as Valmont, Fiona Bell as Merteuil and Catherine Walker as Tourvel. The cast also includes Camille Donegan, Deirdre Donnelly, Adam Fergus, Susan FitzGerald, Martin Maguire, Jane McGrath, Elliot Moriarty, Paul Reid, and cabaret singer Maria Tecce, with set and costume design by Simon Higlett, Lighting by Paul Keogan and fight direction by Paul Burke.
Les Liaisons Dangereuses opens at the Gate Theatre on Tuesday 2nd March with low price previews from Thursday 25th February, Monday to Saturday at 8pm with Saturday matinees at 3pm on selected dates.
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