On Bastille Day, Thursday, July 14, ECU Screens will present a screening of “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” at 7 p.m. in the Raymond J. Estep Multimedia Center at East Central University. The screening is a recorded live production of London’s Donmar Warehouse 2016.
The cost of attendance is $5 for ECU students and $10 for general admission. In the tradition of British theatre, audience members will be treated to free cups of Braum’s ice cream during intermission. One audience member will win a selection of snacks from France, a $49 value.
Choderlos de Laclos’ wrote “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” in 1782. It was a novel off sex, intrigue and betrayal which scandalized the world. Two hundred years later, Christopher Hampton's English-language stage adaptation won the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Play. The Daily Telegraph called director Josie Rourke’s revival “heady and intoxicating.” It also marks the play’s 30 year anniversary.
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.
Starring Dominic West of “The Wire,” “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” is “[e]lectrifying. Funny, moving and uncomfortably provocative,” according to the Sunday Times.
NT Live is the National Theatre's groundbreaking project to broadcast the best of British theatre to cinemas around the world. ECU SCREENS presents Royal National Theater recorded-live stage performances throughout the year. The screenings range from classic literary masterpieces to popular contemporary works. All are open to the public.
In the coming months ECU SCREENS will have the chance to screen encores of audience’s favorite productions from seasons past. Help choose the schedule of screenings by going to www.surveymonkey.com/r/ECU-SCREENS to complete the brief survey.
Visit http://ecuscreens.blogspot.com/ or the ECU SCREENS Facebook page to learn more. For more information about the NT Live, visit https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/. Contact Dr. Rebecca Nicholson-Weir, co-director of ECU SCREENS, at (580) 559-5929 or rnichlsn@ecok.edu.