The Talented Mr Ripley at the Stephen Joseph Theatre

“The Faction,” an “imaginative,” “contemporary,” and “dynamic,” ensemble performed an adaptation by Mark Leipacher of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr Ripley at the Stephen Joseph Theatre today.  Sadly, the promise of a “stripped back aesthetic, combining an inventive ensemble physicality with a rigorous interrogation of text, bridging the gap between the classic repertoire and new writing,” failed to fill more than 20% of the auditorium for the matinee.

I thought the cast was excellent but the production fell between two stools; a “visceral reimagining” of the original and a stand-alone crime drama for first time viewing. As the former, it disappointed. The in your face eroticism was gratuitous (Highsmith knew her readers had imaginations and teased us accordingly) whilst the main males, Tom, Dick and Peter all came out as committed homosexuals, presumably to a chorus of Arts Council cash registers.  Most importantly, Tom, played by Christopher Hughes, fine actor though he is, presented the character as somewhat hapless and rather buffeted by events. There was little to admire in his Tom Ripley. Highsmith’s Ripley, on the other hand, is calculating, ruthless and completely without conscience yet outwardly utterly charming – the archetypal psychopath. There is something in Highsmith’s Ripley that many males might like to have been themselves, albeit in the privacy of their dreams or, at least, beyond the detection range of politically correct vigilantes. Christopher Hughes’ Ripley was more to be pitied, particularly during his frequent slightly hysterical monologue commentaries.  As a stand-alone drama, I imagine that the complexity of the plot, the inability of some of the actors to project their voice to the back of the hall and the frequent use of nudge nudge theatrical metaphors made the basic story difficult enough to follow, never mind getting to grips with the psychology of the main characters. Our friends, who had not read the book, were perplexed.  All round, at £28 per ticket despite the “the generous support of Arts Council England,” we were grateful that the pre-theatre lunch at Lazenby’s in Scarborough, once again, had not disappointed.