It must be lust

Lust? Seduction? Revenge? Just what you need on a chilly February night, and where better to experience it than on the stylized stage of the Gate Theatre, where Christopher Hampton’s multi award-winning play Les Liaisons Dangereuses previews from tonight (Thur 25) and opens on Tue 2 March. Games of love and lust in 18th century Paris unravel in the hands of the cunning Merteuil and the wickedly charming Valmont, two high-society rivals who use sex as a weapon to humiliate and destroy. First staged in London back in 1985 with none other than Alan Rickman, Juliet Stevenson and Lindsay Duncan sharing the honours, Hampton’s play went on to win Olivier and Evening Standard Awards before transferring to Broadway and raking in even more prizes. For this new Gate production Michael Barker-Caven directs a stellar cast headed by Nick Dunning as Valmont, Fiona Bell as Merteuil and Catherine Walker as the unfortunate Tourvel. www.gate-theatre.ie