YORK Theatre Royal rounds off its Royal Ascot Week with a tale of runners and riders of a different kind, Dangerous Liaisons.

Tonight and tomorrow at 7.30pm, Northern Ballet Theatre presents the decadent Parisian shenanigans of obsession, sexual power, cruelty and high-society deceit as a series of duets, choreographed by artistic director David Nixon.

Pulling the strings, or controlling the reins if you prefer an equine image, will be Christopher Hinton-Lewis's predatory Vicomte de Valmont as he seeks to out-jockey the equally scheming Marquise de Merteuil.

His role was played by John Malkovich in the film version. "You can't always forget that it's been done as a film, and while you can't do it as John Malkovich did it, there are things you can take from his Valmont, like looking at a woman's chest all the time while talking to her. You can sense he's always thinking about sex. You have to keep that in the character," says Christopher.

He is enjoying an injury-free run in Northern Ballet Theatre's revival of a production first staged last year. "The week before it opened, I sprained my toe and I was off for two weeks, missing the last week of rehearsals and the first week of shows. It was my first principal role, so at least it was nice to be able to sit back and watch Jimmy Orrante in the role, which he'd done previously in America," he says.

Christopher has been to York only once before, ironically when he had another injury. "I had a ligament problem in the back of my right ankle and I had to attend the Purey Cust hospital. That was about two and half years ago. It's OK now!," he recalls.

He is in his sixth year with Northern Ballet Theatre. "I love it here. I think it's the theatre element that gives the work mass appeal; we may be based in Leeds but we travel the length and breadth of Britain. My dad comes to watch the shows, having just come off the building site in his jeans and he never gets bored."

Box office: 01904 623568.

Updated: 15:57 Thursday, June 16, 2005