★★★

“inventive, stylised and almost cinematic”

Imagine if you could live your life like a movie set, and you were the director. If things weren’t going quite the way you wanted, you could call “Cut!” and re-run the scene with the desired outcome. Tom Ripley has gained this advantageous gift in Mark Leipacher’s touring adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s “The Talented Mr Ripley”. It is a neat theatrical device applied to a character who lives, not just on his wits, but by the skin of his teeth. Unfortunately, though, it does chip away at the sympathy we are supposed to feel for this con artist and serial killer. The perverse beauty of Highsmith’s creation is that it is near impossible not to root for Tom Ripley, despite his psychotic tendencies. The emotional engagement is dampened which, in turn, undermines the suspense.

That said, Ed McVey is fascinating and charismatic as Tom Ripley. Overflowing with energy he is onstage throughout, commanding our attention and drawing us into his subterfuge by alternately addressing the audience before plunging back again into the thrilling story. Like unwitting accomplices, we tag along as his life spirals deeper into deception. Ripley is at a bit of a dead end, scraping by as a small time grifter until approached by shipping magnate Herbert Greenleaf (a cool Christopher Bianchi) who sets the wheels of Ripley’s adventures in motion. Herbert’s son, Dickie (Bruce Herbelin-Earle), is living it up in Italy showing no signs of coming home. Mistakenly believing Ripley to be a close friend of Dickie’s, Herbert offers him an all expenses paid trip to persuade the wayward son to return home. Eyeing a way out of the mess his life has become in America – and a free holiday – Ripley readily accepts. Thus begins his murderous journey.

It is a fast-paced journey, the sense of location created almost single handedly by Zeynep Kepekli’s lighting; a series of neon fluorescent tubes that transport us from the buzz of New York City nightlife to an Italian sunset, and into the depths of the Mediterranean Sea. The stark blackness of Holly Pigott’s set allows shadowy figures to prowl and watch from the sidelines, ever circling and closing in. The ensemble cast break away from the shadows to take on multiple supporting roles. But the focus is on Ripley and his ill-fated victims.

Herbelin-Earle, as Dickie, is refreshingly humble for a playboy of such privilege. Easy-going and relaxed, his voice is a touch more stilted however, as it searches for depth that isn’t really there. Maisie Smith, as Dickie’s frustrated girlfriend Marge, is down to earth, making good use of her underwritten role. Sometimes the secondary roles fare better. Cary Crankson steps out of the ensemble to play a convincing Freddie Miles, almost succeeding in tripping up and exposing Ripley before adding to the body count.

Leipacher’s production is inventive, stylised and almost cinematic. The first act flirts with film-noir while the second half homes in more on the plot twists as the pace quickens and the cat and mouse game gets in full swing, even if the suspense factor manages to escape the chase. Ripley spends a lot of the time thinking on the spot, making it up just so he can get out of his latest scrape. Leipacher’s “The Talented Mr Ripley” is quite the opposite. It is creatively and finely thought out from start to finish. Imaginative, clever, innovative and despite the theatrical trickery, respectfully faithful to Highsmith’s original.

ENIGMA VARIATIONS

OSO Arts Centre

★★★★★

“Quite simply, a beautifully composed production”

For an early performance of Edward Elgar’s orchestral work “Enigma Variations”, the composer himself added a programme note to help explain the title of the piece. He never really answered the question, however, beyond the fact that the musical variations are based on ‘some particular personality or on some incident known only by two people’. The latter is, indeed, pertinent to Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt’s brilliantly sharp and finely constructed two-hander of the same title. Translated by Jeremy Sams, “Enigma Variations” is an intricate tale of love, loss and obsession which unfolds in ever surprising reveals and twists that quite literally take your breath away. The challenge of Elgar’s ‘Variations’ involves a hidden melody. Schmitt’s play contains a whole host of hidden undercurrents that rise to the surface with a virtuoso composer’s pitch-perfect tuning and timing.

Set on an island in the middle of the Norwegian Sea, love is indeed a mystery for our joint protagonists. Nobel prize-winning author, Abel Znorko (Toby Wynn-Davies), lives in isolation. His latest book is a series of letters charting a love affair that is rendered perfect by the physical separation of the lovers; a conscious decision by Znorko fifteen years previously. Into his seclusion bursts Erik Larsen (Jacob Hutchings), a journalist who has been granted a rare interview. The only spoiler I am going to give you is that this interview is a pretext, and one of the gentler twists in the plot. The encounter soon turns into quite a vicious truth game, the two men sparring like boxers, both capable of delivering dramatic punches.

Toby Wynn-Davies truly dazzles us with his portrayal of Znorko. His delivery of the acerbic text snaps like a lion tamer’s whip, while his expressions – a wild flash of the eye – can give a deadlier sting. Wynn-Davies is unafraid to follow the dialogue into the depths it takes him. Razor sharp aphorisms give way to heartfelt honesty and shattering fragility. Only when the lies we tell ourselves are peeled away can we really see our true selves – and the reality of the ones we thought we knew and loved. Instrumental to this self-discovery is Jacob Hutching’s depiction of Erik Larsen. Initially a kind of stooge to Znorko’s misanthropic wit, Hutchings skilfully steers his character into positions of superiority, setting traps and then stabbing his prey with truths that floor Znorko. The two characters are worlds apart but are intimately linked by a love that has cornered them both.

Lydia Sax’s slick and sensitive direction is perfectly in tune with the dynamics of the writing. There are some wonderfully comic moments amidst the poignancy. We are in Edward Albee territory at times, Ibsen at others. There is a traditional feel, but peppered with modern verbal gunfire (and literal gunfire too). Matteo Mastrandrea’s set is a fragmented mess of books, furniture and music memorabilia; bleached of colour – a neutral backdrop on which the two characters can impose their own meanings and memories onto the objects that surround them. An old gramophone plays snippets of Elgar’s music, but it is when Wynn-Davies sits at an upright piano and plays that we are deeply moved – a symbol of the emotional impact of this play. A hymn, a eulogy almost, to lost love. Is Znorko playing for himself, his lover, for Larsen’s lost love, or even for Larsen. Or for us?

Love is a universal theme, yet with many, many variations. We are spectators but the skill of the performers draws us into the twists and turns. There are audible gasps from the audience, and the authenticity of the acting make us believe they, too, are equally surprised. What is no surprise, though, is the standing ovation at curtain call. You’d be hard pushed to find a better night out at the theatre than this one. A show that encapsulates the essence of the art, away from the glitz and mind-numbing budgets of the West End. Quite simply, a beautifully composed production. No enigma there.

Tag Archives: Jonathan Evans

THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY

★★★

UK Tour

THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY

Richmond Theatre

★★★

“inventive, stylised and almost cinematic”

THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY

Richmond Theatre then UK Tour continues

Reviewed on 10th November 2025

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Mark Senior

Previously reviewed at this venue:

MIDSOMER MURDERS: THE KILLINGS AT BADGER’S DRIFT | ★★★★ | October 2025

DEATH ON THE NILE | ★★★★ | October 2025

THE 39 STEPS | ★★★★★ | April 2024

DRACULA | ★★★ | March 2022

THE TALENTED

THE TALENTED

THE TALENTED

ENIGMA VARIATIONS

★★★★★

OSO Arts Centre

ENIGMA VARIATIONS

OSO Arts Centre

★★★★★

“Quite simply, a beautifully composed production”