| Les Liaisons Dangereuses |
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| Written by Michael Portantiere | |
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Les Liaisons Dangereuses By Christopher Hampton, from the novel by Choderlos de Laclos Directed by Rufus Norris Starring Laura Linney and Ben Daniels Roundabout Theatre Company American Airlines Theatre roundabouttheatre.org  Laura Linney and Ben Daniels in LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES; photo by Joan Marcus When Hampton's play was originally presented on Broadway in 1987, Lindsay Duncan and Alan Rickman were magnificent as the wealthy, amoral, sexually manipulative Marquise de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont. Now, the Roundabout Theatre Company has revived the play at the American Airlines Theatre, with Laura Linney and Ben Daniels in these juicy roles. But this is a disappointing production, slackly directed by Rufus Norris and marked by a surprisingly unsatisfying performance from the usually excellent Linney. One of the major problems here is the inconsistency of the dialects. Daniels and Siân Phillips, who plays Madame de Rosemonde, speak in their native, plummy, upper-class Brit tones while all of the others -- including Linney -- have flat American accents. This may sound like a minor point, but it contributes greatly to the production's general lack of stylistic focus. Linney looks fabulous as Merteuil, yet she makes almost no impression in the part. It's almost as if she had decided that, because this woman has spent so much of her time time and energy on sexual gamesmanship, she's now completely bored with it. That's an intriguing concept, but it's difficult to play boredom while retaining the audience's interest, and this is exactly the trap into which Linney falls. Far better is Daniels, who's just right for Valmont in terms of stage presence, speech, and manner, even if his performance does lack the edge that would give the character a sense of menace. Phillips is wonderfully authoritative as Rosemonde. Jessica Collins, Mamie Gummer, and Benjamin Walker do fine work as various individuals who are toyed with by Merteuil and Valmont, and an admirably restrained Kristine Nielsen is amusing as Madame de Volanges -- but, again, the American speech of these performers seems out of place in this context. Some lovely singing of old madrigals is provided by Kevin Duda and Jane Pfitsch. Katrina Lindsay's costumes are gorgeously elaborate, as are the hair and wig designs of Paul Huntley. Scott Pask's set, beautifully lit by Donald Holder, makes creative use of sliding drapes and mirrored panels. There's beaucoup atmosphere in the design aspects of the show, and in the music; so it's unfortunate that, for the most part, the same can't be said for the direction and the acting. Although Les Liaisons Dangereuses includes some rather graphically simulated sex scenes, there's not much heat or energy emanating from the stage, and little sense of danger in these liaisons. |
