Christopher Hampton’s adaptation of the novel by Choderlos de Laclos is a play full of drama, sensuality and suspense, and it is no easy project for a student cast. But directors Helen Brown and Tim Allsop are undaunted. Theirs is a stylish, adult and highly professional production that preserves the play’s humour and horror in equal measure. The decision to set the piece in the 1930s is an ambitious gamble that pays off extremely well. The fin-de-siecle decadence of pre-revolutionary France finds a surprisingly apt modern equivalent in the pre-war depression-era dilettanteism of the European rich.
Minnie Scott’s set and Gemma Crouch’s costumes are spot on. Each conveys the luxurious sense of style and charm that are at the play’s heart, without a hint of student-drama tackiness. In this framework the leads, Will Hammond and Kathryn White, produce solid adult performances. Hammond exudes the necessary charm and sophistication in a role that could easily expose an an unconfident or ill-at-ease actor. White too exhibits the requisite maturity and deftness of touch. The lesser roles are remarkable for the quality of the casting. A coquettish Elizabeth Hunter is an ideal Cecile de Volanges and Juliet Holdsworth is an utterly seductive courtesan, while Sophia McDougall and Will Tosh also acquit themselves admirably as de Tourvel and Danceny.
A few over-self-consciousy directorial touches are all that mar a great piece of theatre. Occasional fussy lighting devices combined with heavy-handed blocking and speech patterns are perhaps more than was required to carry a point home. But nonetheless, it is a pleasure to see so thoughtful and professional a production of a great play, where attention to detail and good-acting have made for a really high-quality production.

James Macinnes, 28.05.02