Dangerous Liaisons

An adaptation of the renowned French epistolary novel.

Choderlos de Laclos, Jakub Čermák The most famous adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos's renowned 1782 epistolary novel Dangerous Liaisons depicts, with irresistible lightness and elegance, the amorous games of the decadent Rococo aristocracy just before the French Revolution. In this affluent society, days and nights revolve around unbridled pleasure – and the relationships between the novel's two main characters, the famous seducer Vicomte de Valmont and his confidante the Marquise de Merteuil, are limited to erotic pursuits as well. Their bet, which sets the entire plot in motion, looks like a frivolous game with feelings: Valmont is to seduce the inaccessible and pious Madame de Tourvel. Beneath the brilliant conversation, sparkling banter, and fluffy Rococo feathers, however, a cynical power struggle rages, as does a wounded woman's desire for revenge. And can such a bet even be won? What are we playing with when we feign true love? How can the seasoned Valmont face real feelings, especially his own? This play about the fear of love, pain, and maturity remains just as provocatively relevant today. Jakub Čermák is an unmissable director with a distinct view of the world, and his extraordinary theatrical imagination promises a generous spectacle. These dangerous swordsmen of love will take to the stage in Liberec for the first time! A point of interest for film enthusiasts: Stephen Frears's Oscar-winning 1988 film of the same name starring John Malkovich and other Hollywood stars was based on Hampton's dramatization, while Miloš Forman's Valmont, released a year later and starring Colin Firth, is based on an alternative screenplay by Jean-Claude Carrière and, against the three Oscars won by the older film, it won four French Césars.