| Les liaisons dangereuses | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Les_liaisons_dangereuses_(theater_poster_-_2008).jpg) Poster for the 2008 Roundabout Theatre Company production | |
| Written by | Christopher Hampton |
| Date premiered | 24 September 1985 |
| Place premiered | The Other Place Stratford-upon-Avon |
| Original language | English |
| Subject | A tale of seduction, revenge, and human malice |
| Genre | Drama |
| Setting | Various salons and boudoirs in hotels and châteaux in and around Paris and the Bois de Vincennes during an autumn and winter in the late 1780s |
Les Liaisons dangereuses (French: [le ljɛzɔ̃ dɑ̃ʒ(ə)ʁøz]) is a 1985 play by Christopher Hampton adapted from the 1782 novel of the same title by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. The plot focuses on the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, rivals who use sex as a weapon of humiliation and degradation, all the while enjoying their cruel games. Their targets are the virtuous (and married) Madame de Tourvel and Cécile de Volanges, a young girl who has fallen in love with her music tutor, the Chevalier Danceny. In order to gain their trust, Merteuil and Valmont pretend to help the secret lovers so they can use them later in their own treacherous schemes.