Synopsis

Love betrayed
Virtue despoiled
Revenge exacted
Triumph out of reach

Former lovers, the Marquise de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont now compete in games of seduction and revenge. Merteuil incites Valmont to corrupt the innocent Cecile de Volanges before her wedding night but Valmont has targeted the peerlessly virtuous and beautiful Madame de Tourvel. While these merciless aristocrats toy with others’ hearts and reputations, their own may prove more fragile than they supposed.
In 1782, Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ novel of sex, intrigue and betrayal in pre-revolutionary France scandalised the world. Two hundred years later, Christopher Hampton’s irresistible adaptation swept the board, winning the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Play, as well as the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in a screen version starring John Malkovich and Glenn Close.
Following the hugely successful broadcast of Coriolanus from the Donmar Warehouse, National Theatre Live returns to the Covent Garden theatre to bring Josie Rourke’s highly anticipated revival to the cinema. The acclaimed production marks the play’s thirtieth anniversary and stars Janet McTeer (The Honourable Woman) as the scheming beauty Merteuil and Dominic West (The Wire, The Affair) as the remorseless libertine Valmont.