Productions

Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Christopher Hampton's award-winning adaptation of Laclos' infamous novel is a celebration of artful wickedness, betrayal and sexual intrigue among French aristocrats. For former lovers, the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, seduction is simply an antedote to their ennui, a spark of amusement in their otherwise jaded existence. Lacking the courage to admit they love each other, they turn all their energies towards destroying the hopes and loves of others.

But when the Vicomte finds himself beset by genuine emotions for one of his victims, the Marquise is incensed by his betrayal and sets about plotting her heartless revenge...


The poster for Les Liaisons Dangereuses was shortlisted by the SCDA in 2008 as one of the top 10 poster designs in Scotland.


Cast:
Marquise de Merteuil - Alex Lambert
Madame de Volanges - Ester Gilvray
Mademoiselle de Volanges - Fiona Arnot
Vicomte de Valmont - Matt Davies
Azolan - James Thomson
Madame Rosemond - Margaret Marr
Madame de Tourvel - Claire Wood
Emelie - Amber Rimmer
Chevallier Danceny - Andrew Thomson
Servants - Cathy Lambert, Siobhan McGovern, Gary Waterall

Crew:
Assistant Director - Rachel Brown
Stage Manager & Construction - Andy Ellis
Lighting Design - Jonathan Towers
Sound Design - Iain Kerr
Costume Design - Lorna Slater
Properties - Gillian Burnett
General Manager - Ross Hope & Susan Wales
Production Finance - Jo Butt
Publicity - Lorraine McCann
Photography - Jon Davey
Rehearsal Prompt - Wendy Mathison

With thanks to: Martin Burnell, Phillip Doyle, Sue Ellis, J. Gordon Hughes, Nigel Jarvis, Howard Elwyn-Jones, Richard Marshall, Craig McFarlane, Caroline Mathiso, and Deborah Rae


Edinburgh Evening News
Fresh telling of Hampton's classic is in safe hands
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
By Thom Dibdin

Les Liaisons Dangereuses ***
Adam House Theatre

BRAVE and dark with more than a hint of the erotic this is a thoroughly satisfying production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses from local amateur company the Grads.

Boldly moving Christopher Hampton's script from pre-revolutionary France to 1936, the company succeed in retaining the sense of the Parisian aristocracy on the brink of destruction.

Indeed the move helps matters for the company by simplifying the costumes and set, while all the elements of an idle elite – seducing and betraying each other just for the thrill of the chase or to satisfy some supposed slight – remain intact.

If there is a certain unevenness to the performances, director David Grimes ensures that his cast are spot on when it counts.

Alex Lambert is a particularly vicious Marquise de Merteuil, ruthless in the destruction of her ex-lover, the Vicomte de Valmont (Matt Davies).

They need to revel in their barbed exchanges right from the start – the setting up of the plot is a bit too muted – but once they begin enjoying themselves the atmosphere bristles with tension.

Supporting actresses Claire Wood, as the upright Madame de Tourvel, and Fiona Arnott, as the convent-educated innocent Cecile Volanges, both ensure that their seductions by Valmont are believable.

Crucially, the scenes where purity turns to infatuation or uninhibited passion are humorously and delicately played out.

The play's numerous scene changes, although relatively well accommodated, do require a more elegant solution to their execution.

But the level of passion generated by the company on stage demands that they think seriously about finding a way to revive the production.


Edinburgh Evening News
Graduate Theatre in Dangereuse Territory
Friday, 30 May 2008
By Liam Rudden

SEX, intrigue and politics, along with cynicism, malice and love, lie at the heart of Christopher Hampton's masterly adaptation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' Les Liaisons Dangereuses.

Written in the form of a series of letters, the infamous French novel, first published in 1782, is a celebration of artful wickedness, betrayal and sexual intrigue among idle aristocrats.

The villains of the piece, the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, have cultivated their mutual cynicism into a highly developed game of wit and wickedness.

Lacking the courage to admit they love each other, they spend their energies destroying the loves of others.

In their private score-keeping, nothing counts more than a heart destroyed and hopes laid to waste. When the Vicomte finds himself beset by genuine emotions for one of his victims, the Marquise considers it the ultimate betrayal and plots her heartless revenge.

At the Adam House Theatre next week, Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group (EGTG) give Hampton's work a novel twist by transposing the action to France in 1936, and a country on the brink of war.

Explaining what first attracted him to the play director David Grimes reveals, "I first saw Liaisons performed, pre-movie, during the 1988-89 season at the Dallas Theatre Centre. I found myself transported by the language, dark humour and heightened spectacle of the classically staged piece. Like many others, I found myself completely seduced by the central anti-heroes.

"The multi-award winning movie was released a year later and it cemented my love of and admiration for the Hampton script. When I started my directing training in 1993, I kept coming back to this piece on which to experiment. Over the years, I have returned again and again to Liaisons with the intent to direct the show in its entirety. For one reason or another, however, I always moved to other projects. When my proposal for Liaisons was met with such enthusiasm by EGTG's membership and committee, I knew the time was finally right."

Hampton's movie adaptation famously won him the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1988, and Grimes admits that, ultimately, the accessibility offered to modern-day theatre-goers by transporting the action to the 1930s is a question that will be answered by audience members themselves.

"As much as I loved the script in its original setting, I was intrigued by the question of whether the material would resonate as well with audiences if you stripped some of the artifice away. The lavish spectacle of 18th century costuming and setting seemed, in my view, to soften some of the impact of the script. Though much of the script entertains by presenting the machinations of a group of morally corrupt and corruptible aristocrats, it functions on another level as a cautionary tale against institutionalised selfishness and self-indulgent excess.

"Pre-revolutionary costuming and setting allowed for a subtle disassociation by the audience from the characters, who were separated by anachronistic dress and mannerisms. Several of the play's central conceits would simply stretch the suspension of disbelief a bit too far if set today. So I started looking backwards.

"Similar to 18th century France, the period leading up to German aggression in World War II was marked by a great class divide heightened by excess and indulgence among the upper echelons of society prior to a radical re-alignment. Ultimately, the Second World War period catered to the conceits of the play while feeling far more modern and connectable. All the puzzle pieces seemed to fit and more importantly, the shift in periods seemed to spark an even greater interest in the play."

Having said that, however, Hampton's script remains unchanged, and still asks challenging questions about the nature of morality, self indulgence and sexual politics.

"One of the strokes of genius of Hampton's script is that it works on the audience much as the characters work on one another," explains Grimes. "It seduces the audience in the first act and then on the basis of that seduction undermines and questions the audience's moral position in the second. With any luck, the ability to more freely connect with the characters will heighten the impact of the overall piece."

Les Liaisons Dangereuses is the latest production from the members of EGTG, a company commended for their 2007 Fringe production, Tiny Dynamite, in the inaugural Evening News Drama Awards.

Formed in 1954 by former members of the Dramatic Society of Edinburgh University, The Grads produced the opening performance at the Adam House Theatre as well as re-opening the venue with their golden jubilee production.