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DECEMBER 2008£2.40

LES LIAISONSDANGEREUSES

magaTHE INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE FOR COMMUNITY THEATRE

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THE PLAY PRODUCED

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The GroupBeaconsfi eld Theatre Group was established in 1951 and aims to produce at least three shows a year. Our current ‘home’, The Beacon Centre in Holtspur is a converted school and though primarily designed as a sports centre, boasts retractable raked seating, a reasonable sized stage and a basic lighting rig. The group has tackled a wide range of plays from Shakespeare to Ayckbourn and has had some success in local one-act festivals. Competition for actors and technicians in the area is fi erce and this factor, coupled with the age profi le of the town, led to the unprecedented cancellation of our May show this year. If the group was to continue to exist, this production had to both excite existing members and attract new ones – Les Liaisons Dangereuses ticked all the boxes.

The PlayChristopher Hampton’s masterly

adaptation of the original 1782 epistolary novel is full of incident and subtlety. It tells the story of the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, once lovers, now co-conspirators who compete to prey upon the vulnerable and innocent for their own amusement. Both disdain emotion, yet it is their own repressed feelings that ultimately lead to their destruction.

CastingIn a new departure for the group, we ran a taster evening prior to auditions to provide an opportunity for potential new recruits to fi nd out more about the play, the director and the group in a relaxed atmosphere. We hung 18th costumes around the walls, played Handel in the background and, most important, offered a free glass of wine! I presented the play and my vision of how we could bring it to the stage. There was then time for people to meet informally, before reading excerpts from the script. The evening was a success

and we had an excellent turn out at the auditions proper.The play requires at least two young players, Danceny and Cécile. Whilst Cécile must be a credible fi fteen, the sensual nature of the play demands that she be at least eighteen! Both roles were fi lled by past and present members of Young Theatre (at Beaconsfi eld), an organisation I have been closely associated with for many years. The same source provided Azolan, Valmont’s valet. So, with deceptive ease, the play was cast with the exception of Rosemunde, the dowager aunt. I say deceptive, because over the summer things went horribly wrong! Health issues and work commitments caused three actors to drop out. Two girls were replaced, but a Valmont was nowhere to be found – no Valmont, no Liaisons. Charismatic and experienced actors with a playing age of around 40 are a rare breed. I was within a whisker of substituting an entirely different script, when after many emails and phone

Beaconsfi eld Theatre Group was established in 1951 and aims to produce at least three shows a year. Our current

adaptation of the original 1782 epistolary novel is full of incident and subtlety. It tells the story of the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, once lovers,

and we had an excellent turn out at the auditions proper.The play requires at least two young players, Danceny and Cécile. Whilst Cécile

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Les Liaisons Dangereuses

calls, we found an actor who was well qualifi ed for the role. As for Rosemunde, she was under my nose the whole time in the form of my Fight Director!

Staging The play has eighteen scenes, including a forest, so the set must be multi-purpose and convey a feeling of 18th century France. Three scenes require a bed, which because of the size of our stage would have to move on and off each time. My designer conceived the idea of using three pairs of four foot fl ats to create doors – wide enough for the bed – and setting a slightly smaller pair of dummy doors on either side of the stage to mask the pros arch. The ‘real’ doors would open toward the back of the stage for the duel, revealing a cyc to give the impression of outdoors. Set design and lighting design were one and the same man, so the pillars supporting the doors were constructed from ply, led lights were placed top and bottom and the front faced with gauze.Our aim was that the set should be subservient to the cast, so the base colour was a warm, but anonymous cream and a talented artist created the suggestion of panelling. For me, the contest between the Marquise and the Vicomte is a sensual chess game and from fi rst reading, I wanted a chess board effect on the fl oor. We constructed a fl oor of mdf and my

magic artist created the marble effect.

FurnitureFurniture was kept to a minimum to avoid interminable set changes. We used a narrow desk, bought for £5 from the local tip, a stool, three chairs, hired from a local catering company, a small table, a chaise longue which we built from scratch, and, of course, a bed. Normally, I would aim for a set change to be around 15 seconds and certainly no longer than 30, but for this show they stretched to around 45 seconds. These changes were carefully rehearsed and executed as a quasi-dance routine by Azolan, the Major Domo and Adele, the maid and became an intrinsic part of the play.

LightingThe led pillar lights provided an atmospheric glow for set changes. Different locations were indicated by subtle changes of colour, from both pillars and main lights. The bed(s) were softly lit, leaving the surroundings dark. A window gobo was used for Cécile’s seduction, casting the shape onto the covers as she slept and a second window gobo was used centre back for Valmont’s house. The forest was also created with gobos, starting dim and gradually brightening to allow the fi ght to proceed safely. We chose not to use the fi nal image of the guillotine as indicated in

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the script, but used a slow fade on the final tableau. SoundPeriod music was a must, so Handel’s Firework music was used for the beginning and end of the show and a selection from Telemann’s Paris Quartets was used for set changes. The duel scene began with the song of a lone bird and a tolling bell covered the removal of Valmont’s body. A ticking clock was used to indicate passage of time in one scene and played throughout the last scene to increase the tension of the atmosphere. As the lights faded for the last time, the volume of the tick was increased to give the impression that the game would be interminable and that contrary to the Marquise’s brave words, there was nothing to look forward to.

CostumesThe wardrobe mistress sourced a dazzling array of period costume from local companies. She and her team managed incredibly fast and difficult costume changes with total efficiency. The fastest change, Cécile from nightdress to gown and bonnet, was effected by rapid over dressing – a little warm for the actress, but fast! Wigs were hired for Valmont and Danceny, one dark and one brown, to distinguish them from the white-wigged footman/Major Domo.

Rehearsals

Twice weekly rehearsals were supplemented by several Sunday afternoons for more intensive exploration of the text. The script is elegant, but complex and a character’s intentions often change phrase by phrase.We worked on the journey of the Marquise / Vicomte relationship and on Vicomte /Tourvel prior to blocking. The insight gained from these sessions proved invaluable, allowing us to agree the essential purpose of each scene and to decide if characters would be physically close or distant and antagonistic. Once on the floor, I allowed the actors to ‘play’ and the moves developed naturally. For example, Merteuil and Valmont are first seen sitting close together, smiling, flirting and with easy physical contact. In contrast, in their last conversation, they were often on opposite sides of the stage. This scene sprang to life in the last couple of weeks. I asked Valmont to throw off his coat as he declares that he has come to spend the night and this action triggered the decision to play the end section as a potential rape, thus providing clear motivation for her declaration of ‘War!’ Rehearsals provoked some interesting initiatives. We decided that Danceny should be reading poetry to the Marquise and he delivered a few translated lines of a contemporary work to set the mood at the beginning of the scene. We also felt that it would be helpful for the audience’s understanding of the plot, if, as he was dying, Valmont indicated to Azolan to give

Danceny a bundle of incriminating letters. To add weight and poignancy to Madam de Tourvel’s breakdown, Valmont became increasingly desperate with flashes of physical brutality and the scene ended with a heart-rending animal howl from the actress that sent shivers down the spine. Bedroom scenes are difficult to choreograph so a mattress was provided to facilitate rehearsals! The cast were totally professional and the intimacy demanded was never an issue. The duel must be precise, safe and dramatic, so we obtained the services of a professional fight arranger. The protagonists were taught basic skills and the fight was blocked very early on taking careful note of the playwright’s explicit stage directions. They practised at least once a week, even in the car park during the performances. Pockets were sewn into Valmont’s shirt, at the shoulder and above the waist to take the blood packets. After much experiment, small ‘bombs’ made from cling film and rubber bands proved the most reliable, the actor simply clapped his hand to the ‘wound’ and the blood flowed. His ‘body’ was dragged off the stage on a dark blanket by Azolan and the footman, leaving a devastated Danceny free to leave in the opposite direction. The card game was a theatrical version of piquet which the girls were playing as the audience entered. We chose a two-player version so that Cécile could doze at the start and in the final scene Merteuil was

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excluded, casting an ironic twist on her final line – ‘our best course is to continue with the game.’

ConclusionThis is a difficult play, requiring a sensi-tive, experienced cast with no weak

links and a committed technical team. I was blessed with both and the produc-tion received much praise from the four hundred strong audience. The group felt a real sense of achievement and was re-energised. I would commend ‘Liaisons’ to any company up for a challenge, but

beware this piece is dangerous by name and dangerous by nature.

Helen E Sharman (GoDA)Photography Tony Sendall.

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