The Talented Mr. Ripley, UK Tour Review
Written by Siobhan for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
The American novelist Patricia Highsmith introduced us to the story of The Talented Mr.Ripley 70 years ago, and yet it is a story that holds up today. With help from a recent Netflix series and the famous embodiment of Ripley from Matt Damon - Tom Ripley is a character that has been kept alive time and time again. This time, it's from the direction of Mark Leipacher, and we see a new embodiment of the classic psychological thriller take place on the stage.
Tom Ripley is living a life in New York, a life filled with paranoia and boredom, until Herbert Greenleaf asks Ripley to find his son Dickie and return him home, as he is in Europe and his mother is sick. Herbert pursues Ripley into helping him as he has been informed of the friendship Ripley and Dickie once shared, a friendship Ripley lets us know has been exaggerated. Swallowed by the mundanity of financial stress and lack of career, Ripley jumps at the opportunity to escape to Europe.
Ed McVey takes on the lead as Ripley with great commitment and energy, immediately displaying a character who is split between truth and lies. This is accentuated through stylistic choices made by Leipacher and movement director Sarita Piotrowski - using the ensemble as a physical embodiment of Ripley's envisioned danger and anxiety. But it's the lighting choices that Zeynep Kepekli makes that really creates an atmosphere of tension when needed and relief when we crave it.
The first act is slow and at times, weak. The language and story mainly rely on the chemistry between the characters of Ripley, Dickie, and Dickie's on-off girlfriend Marge (Maisie Smith). Smith is a welcome presence on the stage as she feels real in her characterisation and excellently chooses to show the audience what the character isn't saying with her reactions to the others on stage. Whereas, Mcvey and Bruce Herbelin-Earle (Dickie) continuously struggle to find depth to their relationships, and without that crucial exploration - the story falls bland.
The second act sees a pace change, and finally, some action. We see Ripley in a whole new light thanks to his sinister streak at the end of Act One, causing him to leap into a new life and new persona. The stakes are higher, and the production finds it footing and starts to achieve attention-grabbing dynamic scenes that sees a finale that is satisfying for the theatre goer.
Unfortunately, the play as a whole falls flat due to the production relying too much on verbal storytelling. We are told what to feel and acknowledge too much at times, but without that admittedly, we wouldn't really know what the characters feel just from the performances given. The clever and unique lighting and movement throughout the piece are the triumph of the show, and make it worth watching.
The Talented Mr. Ripley tours around the UK until May 2026.
★ ★ ★
