In 2016, Liam Scarlett charmed Brisbane audiences with his delightful production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, co-commissioned by Queensland Ballet and The Royal New Zealand Ballet.

Hero image for Queensland Ballet’s Dangerous Liaisons. Photo: supplied 

Now he is creating Dangerous Liaisons, a new full-length work for QB, based on Les Liaisons Dangereuses, the famous 1782 novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. Set amongst the decadent aristocracy just before the French Revolution, it tells the tale of the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, two rivals who use seduction to exploit others, playing their vicious, selfish games to try to outsmart each other.

“I put it forward to [Artistic Director Li Cunxin] and he seemed to like the idea, and I think having just done Midsummer for the company it was kind of a polar opposite to give the dancers and audience something different,” says Scarlett. “It was definitely one of those stories that has resonated around in my mind for a little bit. I mean the story is quite popular and quite well known due to many adaptations either in film or theatre and even in popular culture, and with...