First look at Lesley Manville in ‘seductive’ new role with Aidan Turner – and how to watch it

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Lesley Manville, known for her role in *Sherwood*, and Aidan Turner, a star of *Rivals*, are joining forces for a new stage production that everyone is excited about. The complete cast for their revival of *Les Liaisons Dangereuses* has been announced, and a first glimpse of the show, along with the premiere date, has been revealed.

The show was announced as part of the National Theatre’s next season in April, marking the first season under the leadership of new director Indhu Rubasingham.

Manville and Turner will star in Christopher Hampton’s adaptation of the novel *Les Liaisons Dangereuses*, with Manville as the Marquise de Merteuil and Turner as the Vicomte de Valmont. Dates for performances and ticket sales have now been announced.

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The show will run from March 21st to June 6th, 2026, and officially open on April 1st.

Tickets will be available to the general public starting Thursday, October 23rd. National Theatre members can book tickets in advance on October 14th, 16th, and 20th, depending on their membership level.

Monica Barbaro, known for her role in *Top Gun: Maverick*, and Gabrielle Drake are joining the cast, as previously announced. The ensemble is rounded out by Sharif Afifi, Nandi Bhebhe, Ali Goldsmith, Darragh Hand, Cat Simmons, and Hannah van der Westhuysen. Marianne Elliott is directing the project.

Okay, so the story is set in this super glamorous world of incredibly wealthy people, and it’s all about how much power the men hold. Basically, your reputation is *everything* – especially if you’re a woman. One wrong move, and your whole life could fall apart. It sounds intense!

Marquise de Merteuil is a skilled survivor who uses her wit and carefully calculated power to get what she wants.

These two skilled seducers, led by the charismatic Vicomte de Valmont, treat attraction like a game, using desire as a tool to get what they want. However, when their partnership breaks down and they become rivals, their conflict puts everyone around them at risk.

Hampton’s play premiered in 1985 with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and then moved to a London theatre in 1986. A film adaptation followed in 1988, featuring a star-studded cast including Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Uma Thurman, and Peter Capaldi.

The play was last performed in London in 2016, starring Dominic West and Janet McTeer. Critics praised it highly: the *Evening Standard* described it as both captivating and unsettling, and *The Guardian* noted its fast-paced action and witty dialogue.

Manville also has a new film on the horizon, the first reviews for which came in last month.

The new spy thriller, *Winter of the Crow*, features an actor known from *Sherwood* as a university professor traveling to Warsaw, Poland in 1981, a time of martial law. The film received positive reviews after its debut at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival.

She’s also joining Liam Neeson and Joe Keery in the upcoming movie *Cold Storage*. It’s a funny and scary story by writer David Koepp about what happens when a dangerous parasite gets loose from a government lab and ends up at a self-storage facility, putting two employees in danger.

Actor Turner will be back as Declan O’Hara in the second season of the popular show *Rivals*.

Tickets for *Les Liaisons Dangereuses* go on sale October 23rd, and the show will begin performances at the National Theatre on March 21, 2026.

Winter of the Crow has no UK release date. Cold Storage is released on 6 February 2026.

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2025-10-09 21:50