Aidan Turner (Vicomte de Valmont) and Lesley Manville (Marquise de Merteuil) in Les Liaisons Dangereuses [Sarah Lee]

LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES
National, Lyttelton Theatre
☆☆☆

Christopher Hampton has refreshed the script of his acclaimed adaptation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ 1782 novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses for its first staging at the National Theatre. It explores the ruthlessness of the wealthy and the social codes that define them.

Set in the salons of the French élite, reputation is everything and a single naïve error can destroy a woman’s future. For the idle super-rich, seduction is both sport and a form of control.

The Marquise de Merteuil (a pitch-perfect Lesley Manville) is an arch manipulator who, with the Vicomte de Valmont (Aidan Turner), takes delight in seduction and deceit.

Seeking revenge on her former lover Gercourt, Merteuil enlists Valmont to corrupt Cécile de Volanges (Hannah van der Westhuysen), newly released from a convent. Her mother (Cat Simmons) intends her to marry Gercourt.

Valmont, however, has his eyes on a different challenge: Madame de Tourvel (Monica Barbaro), a devout married woman staying at his aunt’s estate. When he discovers that Cécile’s mother has been bad-mouthing him to Tourvel, he agrees to execute Merteuil’s wishes, only to find himself falling for Tourvel. His alliance with Merteuil descends into rivalry, and their machinations are revealed.

Marianne Elliott’s production is elegantly mounted, with Rosanna Vize’s mirrored interiors evoking vanity and complicity, while a giant candlelit chandelier hangs menacingly over the stage.

Tom Jackson Greaves’ dance sequences are a highlight, and Natalie Roar’s lavish costumes delight. Yet post-#MeToo, some of the play’s themes and its sexual politics feel at odds with our times.

Until June 6
nationaltheatre.org.uk