Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Donmar Warehouse

30 years after it was first staged, Christopher Hampton’s Les Liaisons Dangereuses play about scandal in pre-revolutionary France is set to crown the Donmar Warehouse’s 2015 season with the stellar Dominic West.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses: book to play

Based on the 18th Century novel by Choderlos de Laclos, which caused a sensation when it was published, the play weaves a web of seduction, revenge and corruption. The story influenced Victorian playwrights including Oscar Wilde, and more recently was given a modern adaptation in film Cruel Intentions. Christopher Hampton’s adaptation won Olivier and Evening Standard Award for Best Play when it was first staged and boasted iconic performances from Alan Rickman and Juliet Stevenson.

An all star cast: Les Liaisons Dangereuses play London

A trio of stage and screen stars have been lined up to take the leads in the story of a wager to corrupt a young woman before her wedding made by two rich and bored former lovers.

BAFTA winner Dominic West (The Wire, The Affair) will play the Vicomte de Valmont opposite twice academy award nominee Janet McTeer who will play Marquise de Merteuil. McTeer was last seen at the Donmar in Mary Stuart and has won a Tony and Olivier Award for her previous stage work.

Downton Abbey actor Michelle Dockery was due to make her Donmar debut in the production, but pulled out of the project six weeks before opening night. She is replaced by stage regular Elaine Cassidy.

Masterful director: Domar's Josie Rourke

The Donmar’s artistic director Josie Rourke will direct the production. "I have long wanted to direct Christopher Hampton’s superb Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and the cast we have drawn together is a testament to the brilliance of his play." she says. Expect a sexually charged atmosphere and lavish costumes. The auditorium may well have a makeover too. Under Rourke’s leadership the compact 250-seat theatre has often seen the set design spill over into the seating and circle balconies.