Theatre Converse Presents Rare Performance of Original Dangerous Liaisons

Theatre Converse will present a rare performance Christopher Hampton’s “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” in Hazel  B. Abbott Theater April 25 through May 3.  Curtain time for each performance is 8 pm except for the Sunday, April 27 performance which is 2 pm. Admission is $8 for adults, $4 for students and seniors. The work is recommended for mature audiences.

“Les Liaisons Dangereuses is an interesting psychological study of two people who spend their adult lives playing games of manipulation with other people’s lives and emotions,” states Converse Theatre Professor Mary Nicholson, who is also director the performance. “It starts out as a game of revenge and to the tragedy of innocent victims.”

Hampton based the play on a 1782 novel of the same name. Set against a backdrop of the French Revolution, the plot is driven by revenge, seduction and intrigue. The story was adapted for stage and screen many times in the past century. The 1988 film version by Stephen Frears won numerous Academy Awards and nominations, including those for Glenn Close (Best Actress) and Michelle Pfeiffer (Best Supporting Actress).

 “It’s fairly rare for a college to ,” Nicholson says “ students have been asking to do the show for several years because of the specific characterizations involved and because of the 1700’s costumes. The 1700’s a particularly fun era in which to work.”

The cast of eleven includes newcomers Adam Brownlee, a student at USC Upstate; Richard Freidberg, a Little Theatre veteran; and George Pate, a graduate of USC and recent winner of the National Tennessee Williams One Act Playwright Award.

For more information contact John Bald, Associate Professor and Chair of the Theatre Department at (864) 596-9067.