The Talented Mr Ripley (touring) ★★★★

Have you ever thought you were being watched? A Fifties novel, a BAFTA-winning Nineties film and a Netflix series last year all point to the enduring fascination with Tom Ripley, the charming but unstable con artist with an unfortunate habit of murder. The latest incarnation of the character and his world is provided by critically acclaimed ensemble theatre company The Faction – is their offering more fake or fortune?

At the start of the play, Ripley is scratching a living in New York, using his talents for forgery and figures to get by (“Even if I’m drunk, I can tell if the waiter’s cheating me”). A proposal from a wealthy businessman brings the prospect of riches and a new life – the mission being to travel to Italy and bring home the tycoon’s errant son Dickie Greenleaf, an acquaintance. The glamorous, expenses-paid lifestyle is to Ripley’s taste, but it’s not long before interest becomes fixation and events spiral into a dangerous game of identity theft, cover-ups… and worse. As his past threatens to catch up with him, he has to decide – who does he want to be – and just who is that anyway?

The central character of Tom Ripley is played with extraordinary energy by Ed McVey – he captures the paranoid / narcissistic qualities brilliantly and is electrifying to behold. Solid support is provided by Bruce Herbelin-Earle, making his professional theatre debut as Dickie Greenleaf, and Maisie Smith as Greenleaf’s love interest, Marge Sherwood. Credit goes to the remaining seven members of the cast who, as well as playing more than twenty parts between them, are crucial to the staging of the show. The Faction are renowned for their sparse set designs, and throughout the play mood, movement and location are expressed in part by beautifully choreographed routines. Lighting plays its part in creating moments of suspense and shifts in atmosphere. Effective use is made of a raised square platform which becomes a stage, a bar, a cabaret theatre, a pool, a car…

To tackle such an epic story with deliberate set limitations is ambitious, and the ambition is largely rewarded. The focus naturally shifts to the quality of the acting, which is good. There are some wonderfully creative moments, including Ripley being haunted by ghosts from his past and the blurring of reality and fantasy. The Talented Mr. Ripley is an accomplished adaptation which is likely to appeal to long-term fans and newcomers alike.

The Recs reviewed The Talented Mr Ripley at the Birmingham Rep