Actress Lesley Manville has revealed she appeared in the debut performance of a theatre show which she is now starring in 40 years later.
In an interview with British Vogue, the 69-year-old spoke about her upcoming role in Christopher Hampton's celebrated adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and said she was among the play’s original cast when it debuted in 1985.
The play, which was adapted from Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’s 1782 novel of the same name, has won Hampton an Olivier award, and had two stints on Broadway.
The production follows Marquise De Merteuil, a master in the art of survival who, alongside Vicomte De Valmont, turns seduction into strategy and weaponises desire before the pair’s alliance collapses into rivalry.
It was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-Upon-Avon, in which Manville played the role of a young Cecile Volanges – one of the victims of Merteuil and Valmont’s schemes.
The actress told British Vogue her part in the play was "done by the interval" and she would watch the rest of the performance from the wings.
She said: "It wasn’t as if I hadn’t been involved in good theatre.
"But I remember watching it – this is before we knew what was going to happen to this play – and thinking, 'Christ, this is good. This is really something else.’"
The late Alan Rickman, best known for appearing in the Harry Potter franchise as professor Severus Snape, starred as Valmont in the original production, and Manville described his performance as "effortless".
Speaking to the magazine, she said: "It was delicious watching him.
"I don’t say this lightly – I think he was born to play Valmont. He made it look effortless."
Manville will star as Merteuil alongside Rivals actor Aidan Turner as Valmont, while A Complete Unknown actress Monica Barbaro will play Volanges.
Manville won an Olivier award for her performance as Jocasta in Robert Icke’s 2025 production of Oedipus, and played Helene Alving in Ghosts in 2014.
She has also starred in a number of films, including Mrs Harris Goes To Paris (2022), Misbehaviour (2020), and Phantom Thread (2017) – for which she received an Oscar nomination for her role as Cyril Woodcock.
The National Theatre production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses opens on 21 March at Lyttelton Theatre in London, where it will remain until 6 June.
During its run, a cinematic production will be captured which will be released in cinemas on 25 June.
Source: Press Association
