It is always interesting to revisit classics that were first seen at a much less mature age. I delighted in the (very different) film versions of Dangerous Liaisons and Valmont as a young teenager, without understanding in the slightest the nuances of the text. Christopher Hampton’s effective adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos’s novel has lost none of its gleeful manipulation in this production.
Dominic West is the Vicomte de Valmont and Janet McTeer the Marquise de Merteuil, former lovers engaged in a battle of wits with seduction as the primary weapon. Merteuil wishes Valmont to seduce 15-year old, convent-educated Cecile (Morfydd Clark) in order to revenge herself on Cecile’s fiancé. Valmont is focussed upon the virtuous (and married) Madame de Tourvel (Elaine Cassidy) and is intent upon overcoming her (inexplicable, to him) fidelity to her husband.
The set, which resembles a distressed stately home or one in which the process of moving out has begun in earnest, adequately reflects the fragility of the regime. The performances are all of excellent quality, particularly McTeer’s Merteuil. She is an equal foil for Valmont and uses all of her weapons to great effect. She gives off an air of indomitability, and it is therefore all the more moving when she admits how vulnerable women in the society are. West epitomises the duality of Valmont, the exquisite languor of the aristocrat and the primal man beneath. This is the first role I’ve seen him in since Jimmy McNulty in The Wire in which he has been able to express that terrifying primacy, and it worked very well (I have never understood those who see him only as a toff – to me, one of his particular strengths is playing early man with a veneer of civilisation). He seemed to stumble over his lines at times, however, which was distracting.
Cassidy’s Tourvel was very good, and she created a fully realised character very quickly as she stepped in to play the part at the last minute after the sad death of Michelle Dockery’s fiance. I must admit to not having an enormous amount of sympathy for the character, which is probably because she’s a bit wet compared to Valmont and Merteuil. Clark’s Cecile was also enjoyable. The scene where Valmont relieves her of her virtue was particularly shocking in its perfunctoriness. Edward Holcroft’s Chevalier Danceny was there mostly for the plot, but Holcroft did a good job making him as interesting as possible.
An enjoyable diversion, and the play remains as fresh as ever. But not one of the Donmar’s unmissable evenings.
London Culture Vulture 