Dangerous Liaisons, a major new work by choreographer Liam Scarlett, is this year’s season opener for Queensland Ballet. Based on the famous 1782 novel that scandalised both the French aristocracy and literary world, the ballet tells a complex story of seduction and manipulation. There’s a beautifully arranged score and a stunning set design, adorned with lavish costumes. But a convoluted plot in need of dramaturgical thinning ultimately dilutes the dramatic potency of the work.

Joel Woellner and Georgia Swan in Queensland Ballet’s Dangerous Liaisons. Photo © David Kelly 

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ epistolary novel centres around two rivals, the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont – former lovers who engage in a sexually-charged game of deceit and betrayal to tragic effect. Through a series of letters, the two protagonists and their many victims gradually weave a densely layered web of lies and sexual immorality.

Scarlett is no stranger to staging adaptations of literary works, having recently choreographed ballets like A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2015) and Frankenstein (2016). For Dangerous Liaisons, he has strictly followed the original text, structuring the work – like the letters in the book – as a series of pas de...