In case you missed it during its West End run earlier in 2026, there’s good news for international theatre fans: Les Liaisons Dangereuses will be in select cinemas worldwide from June 25, before heading to the National Theatre at Home streaming service later in the year.
This is all thanks to National Theatre Live, whose productions have been seen by more than 13 million people across the globe. I’m one of these, having seen everything from Hansard to All My Sons in theaters and local community centers.
The goal is to make British theater more accessible, which is fantastic news if you’re international or just (rightfully) can’t afford paying up to £120 for a ticket. Out of all of the productions I’ve seen, Les Liaisons Dangereuses is one that you absolutely cannot afford to miss.
For us peasants, this translates to Dangerous Liaisons, which you’ve likely seen in the 1988 movie of the same name starring Glenn Close and John Malkovich. This time, Lesley Manville and Aiden Turner take on the respective roles of the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont.
During its three-hour (I know) runtime, viewers experience a whirlwind of drama, deceit, unrequited love, and outright chaos. The staging is exquisitely minimal yet dramatic thanks to its use of moving mirrors, with our cast included in mass choreographed dance numbers interspersed throughout.
Frankly, it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. So when the National Theatre invited me on an exclusive tour behind-the-scenes during one of its two filming days for NT Live, I was as giddy as a five-year-old.
National Theatre Live: Les Liaisons Dangereuses was shot with the same cameras used to film your favorite Netflix movies
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Here’s how it works. For productions that aren’t beamed into cinemas live, filming happens across two performances in the same week.
This way, editors can splice together the best cuts of scenes, meaning that if there’s a mark on the floor or a prop out of place, you won’t notice. The idea is to replicate the
When I walk into the theater on the second day of shooting, a total of seven cameras are rehearsing their placements for later in the evening. They’re all a part of ARRI camera systems, which are the same kind that film all the latest Netflix movies. Small world, huh?
Most of them have a stationary position, with the camera closest to the stage operating on a dolly (which is essentially a small piece of track it can move up and down). Instead of being operated hands-on like on a movie set, the dolly camera is operated remotely from a portable control room.
So where is this mysterious crew? Instead of being packed into the auditorium, they’re (literally) parked outside in two mobile van units. The first acts like a screen studio you’d see on an actual TV set, monitoring each camera through numbered live feeds. Next door is the audio mixing unit — meaning if someone coughs in the audience, it will be removed.
Basically, it’s all the pleasure of being at the theater without any of the annoyances. I’m almost jealous of whoever gets to see it on screen, zooming into painful and poised movements in a way that I just couldn’t see, even with my best glasses on two rows from the front.
You might be wondering what happens when a production is beamed totally live into cinemas without editing or delay, such as Inter Alia with Rosamund Pike in 2025. The process is almost the same, except that the NT team has to book a satellite to use in order to do so. According to my tour guide, that means a lot of bartering with international TV channels.
Regardless of how it is recorded, you can guarantee getting the best theatre experience possible. And if that hasn’t sold you… Lesley Manville and Rivals‘ own Aiden Turner?! Come on.
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