The Talented Mr. Ripley – Bord Gáis Energy Theatre – Review

Produced by Thomas Hopkins Productions & Jack Maple Productions
Dates – 10 – 14 March 2026

Find out more about this production here.

Shipping magnet Herbert Greenleaf (Christopher Bianchi) meets Tom Ripley (Ed McVey) in a bar. Herbert has been told that Tom is a friend of his son, Dickie Greenleaf (Bruce Herbelin-Earle). It seems Dickie has travelled to Italy to enjoy his life and spend his trust fund, and his Dad wants him to return home to start his career in the shipping business. Herbert decides to pay Tom to travel to Italy and convince Dickie to return home. Once there, Tom meets up with his vague acquaintance Dickie and his friend Marge Sherwood (Maisie Smith) and becomes part of their world.

Patricia Highsmith first wrote the novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley, in 1955. At the time, the book was a moderate success and went on to win awards, including the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière for best international crime novel. I doubt even Patricia Highsmith would have hoped that 70 years later, there would still be such love for her work. We have had The Talented Mr. Ripley, the film (1999), then later the Netflix TV series (2024) and now the play. What’s left, The Ripley Ballet or Opera? Not if Timothée Chalamet has anything to do with it. Highsmith wrote four subsequent books featuring Tom Ripley, all together forming The Ripliad. There is no announcement from Netflix if Andrew Scott will delve deeper into Ripley’s world, but it would come as no real surprise if he did.

The novel has a number of exotic locations, such as the beaches of Mongibello and Rome. The staging of this production leaves a lot to the imagination, with a central raised platform used for the majority of the locations. There is long strip lighting on all the side walls, with other items wheeled on stage, including a frequently seen fridge! It works relatively well, but lacks the wow factor of the Italian landscapes.

The play demands a lot of Ed McVey as Tom Ripley, and he delivers as the chameleon Ripley, who is willing to do anything to achieve his goals. Ed is known to many from his appearance as Prince William on The Crown, but this part is considerably more demanding. It is hard not to compare Bruce Herbelin-Earle to Jude Law, in the part of Dickie Greenleaf, and he doesn’t ooze class and sophistication as easily as Law did in the 1999 film. Maisie Smith plays Marge Sherwood as an earnest and well-meaning individual who is caught in Ripley’s web of lies.

If you’re a fan of the novels or their various adaptations, then this is another chance to enjoy them on stage. Ripley is a complex character, and it’s easy to see why people are fascinated with the actions of this anti-hero. The audience is firmly under the spell of this man, as he manoeuvres to cover his tracks.