Dominic West stars opposite Elaine Cassidy and Janet McTeer in Josie Rourke’s revival of Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the Donmar Warehouse.
Choderlos de Laclos’ 1782 novel about sex, intrigue and betrayal in pre-revolutionary France, adapted for the stage 200 years by Christopher Hampton, charts the story of former lovers, the Marquise de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont, as they compete in games of seduction and revenge.
Merteuil incites Valmont to corrupt the innocent Cécile de Volanges before her wedding night but Valmont has targeted the peerlessly virtuous and beautiful Madame de Tourvel. While these merciless aristocrats toy with others’ hearts and reputations, their own may prove more fragile than they supposed.
Olivier Award winner McTeer and The Wire star West return to the Donmar Warehouse to play the Marquise de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont respectively. McTeer, who picked up her prestigious prize for A Doll’s House in 1997, was last seen at the venue in 2005’s Mary Stuart, while West, whose recent credits include The River at the Royal Court, returns following his critically acclaimed performance in Life Is A Dream.