Sydney Theatre Company and UBS Investment Bank present
Les Liaisons Dangereuses
By Christopher Hampton
From the Novel By Choderlos de Laclos
Unaware of the impending revolution that breathlessly waits to devour the French aristocracy in all its decadence, the Marquise de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont plot an elaborate game of revenge, seduction, humiliation and cruelty. It is a salon amusement that soon escalates into a brutal battle between former lovers. Sex and love are the weapons of choice and these combatants will stoop to the lowest levels of deviousness in order to win. Their crossfire is indiscriminate, making casualties of friends and foes alike.
Hugo Weaving and Pamela Rabe will play the charismatic duo who manipulate with the precision and discipline of master puppeteers, deriving a pleasure from their spite that can only be surpassed by the pleasure of watching the deliciously wicked pair in action.
The sexual politics at work in this gripping drama are as relevant now as when Laclos wrote the novel in 1782 and when Christopher Hampton adapted it for the stage in 1985. Avoiding the lavish clichés often associated with the period, this new production directed by Griffin Theatre Company’s Artistic Director, Sam Strong, will acid-wash a familiar story, stripping it back to its essential layers in the intimacy of the Wharf 1 Theatre.
2 hours 40 minutes, including interval
Wharf 1 Theatre
