LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES

This West End and Broadway hit is based upon a decadent French novel of 1782. Seductions and double crosses abound, which playwright Hampton makes presage the French Revolution. It has been filmed thrice, but not well. Heard here is a BBC production performed with near perfection by a spirited cast directed by Gordon House. The audio is a good deal sexier than the other dramatizations, thanks to the innate suggestiveness of the medium. However, nothing in the script or playing is cheap. On the contrary, its sophistication only emphasizes the tawdriness of the empty, exploitive amusements of the aristocratic generation that would die by the guillotine. Y.R. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award © AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC/JAN 00]