The swinging sixties got a reputation for sex and drugs and doing your own thing, especially for men. Two blokes hitched a lift to the moon and back. And that’s not to mention the fairly male-dominated world of rock’n’roll. But every era has its own specialities. So attitudes to misogyny, gender and class/wealth remain important. And theatre often plays a role in contesting this territory.
Plenty of the standout points in the script of ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ are shovelled into a sparkling, if complex but still relevant, storyline that Pierre Laclos published back in 1782. The author was keen to fight in the American War of Independence but was only able to reach an island in the Bay of Biscay. That is why (and where) he wrote Dangerous Liaisons, his only major work. Nearly 200 years later, in the 1980s, the play was adapted for TV, film and theatre.
The New Venture Theatre’s stage version of ‘Liaisons’ revealed a continuing fascination with this tale of precipitated – and calculated – deception between and within genders and family members.
Valmont (Neil Drew) and Merteuil (Bridget Anne Lawrence) are ex-lovers that like to play around. They agree on a seductive bet. So, Valmont will pursue the already married Madame de Tourval (Charlotte Anne Atkinson) whose husband is away on court duties At the same time, Merteuil will seek to disrupt a young women Cecile (Grace Vincent) fresh from the convent.
The shadow of misogyny lurks in the mix of intrigues and narratives within the script with convincing theatrical aplomb. Emilie (Kasha Goodenough) is a courtesan living in her house with Valmont on the edge of Paris. They are in her bed drinking cognac. He talks of his “mounting excitement” and “the power of love”.
Back home in the country, Valmont plays tricks and steals letters. He’s got a spare key. Merteuil, his ex, says “only flirt with those you intend to refuse”. They each have their own plans and intrigues and will go a long way to achieving them.
In many ways ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ remains a very modern play. There is no happy ending. Good does not necessarily prevail over evil. There is no moment of enlightenment. Becket and Pinter must have been just waiting to be born.
This was a full house in the upstairs theatre space at NVT with adult themes and some nudity. Michael Folkard was right on the ball with the set design. Meanwhile the swift entrance and exit of double beds from backstage was a theatrical delight in its own right!
The lighting design and rigging was in the ever-reliable hands of Strat Mastoris, with Ian Black and Esther Draycott providing the sounds. Meanwhile, the dramatic and colourful splash of costume design (Mary Weaver, Willie Sutherland-Thorne & Emi Salkeld) was suitably outrageous.
Mark Lester directed a complex, exuberant and risqué exploration of love, misogony and seduction.
Photos by Strat Mastoris
