The return of very dangerous “Liaisons”, in Alès, on the Cratère stage

By presenting, from this Monday, in the large hall of Cratère the show “Quartet”inspired by “Dangerous connections” by Choderlos de Laclos, director Jacques Vincey clarifies its spirit: “Their love story (that of Valmont and Merteuil) is an anecdote in comparison to the issues of desire, the essence of the relentless circle of submissiondomination. It is nevertheless a love story corrupted by pride and jealousy. A banal story in short. But which they refuse to admit as such and push for its incandescence, their vitality and often scathing humor raise their confrontations to heights of sensual and cerebral jubilation. They play and play. They embody the puppets that they have built themselves. They manipulate them and play their own games.”

A shock duo on stage

Here, we find ourselves in a living room before the French Revolution or a bunker after the Third World War, where the Marquise de Merteuil and the Viscount de Valmont play to reenact their passionate relationship and the erotic intrigues that led to the sacrifice of Cécile Volanges and the president of Tourvel. Merteuil plays Valmont who plays Tourvel before she becomes Volanges who succumbs under the hands of Valmont. Then Valmont pronounces the last words of Tourvel poisoned by Merteuil playing Valmont. But it is Valmont who dies while Merteuil remains alone. A carousel of four characters for two performers engaging in a dizzying game of massacre. For a large-scale theatrical show with actors Hélène Alexandridis and Stanislas Nordey, accompanied by instrumentalist Alexandre Meyer.