Having played to sold-out houses last year, a touring stage production of The Talented Mr Ripley returns to the region this month. Patricia Highsmith’s acclaimed novel has previously spawned a movie and TV series, but the theatrical version takes the story to another, more intense level, according to cast member Bruce Herbelin-Earle...

Chances are you’ve already come across The Talented Mr Ripley. Patricia Highsmith’s psychological thriller (the first of five books to feature the titular character) is a global bestseller and one of the 100 Novels That Shaped Our World, according to the BBC. It’s also been turned into a hugely successful movie (featuring Matt Damon and Jude Law), and a critically acclaimed Netflix TV series starring Andrew Scott.
To top things off, last September saw the British premiere of a stage version adapted & directed by Black Country native Mark Leipacher, followed by a tour which proved so popular that another three months of dates have been added.

Set in the 1950s, the novel/play follows lowly New York conman Tom Ripley, who is hired by a wealthy stranger to track down and bring home his charming but wayward son, Dickie Greenleaf, who is frittering away his time living the high life on the Italian Riviera. Ripley jumps at the opportunity, but quickly becomes seduced by the opulent lifestyle of his target. Deciding that he wants it for himself, he is prepared to do anything to secure it, from manipulation and seduction, to lies, deceit and even murder.

It’s a potent mix that makes for a thrilling night at the theatre, according to English-French actor/model Bruce Herbelin-Earle. The star of Netflix drama Free Rein is making his professional stage debut as Dickie, and believes Leipacher’s adaptation offers a genuinely new take on the source material, whether viewers are familiar with previous incarnations or not.

“Regardless of whether you’ve read the book or seen the film, this stage adaptation pushes the story’s emotional intensity to new heights,” he says, admitting he’d seen the film, avoided the TV show once he was cast, and made the novel his “bible” while preparing for the role - not least because the stage version leaves a similarly significant element to the imagination.

“[Theatre is] a different medium, so we play with a lot of elements of naturalism and un-naturalism,” he says. “I also didn’t want to look at what Jude Law did and try to imitate it; I wanted to have my own spin on things.

“The Dickie you get in the stage show is a little more unpredictable, a little more dangerous, a touch more aggressive, and a little more boisterous in what he asks for. He can also be the opposite of that - charming and energetic, impulsive and childlike, and very lovely.”

All of which makes the character more fun to play - and potentially more of a match for Ripley. Dickie could also be a trickier proposition for the conman in terms of manipulation, not least because of the confidence and privilege afforded him through wealth.

“We’ve played a lot with the subtext, and once you start really reading between the lines of who Dickie is and what he says, it’s really interesting. Especially during that time period in the 50s when class was very much a thing - all the things you had to be conscious about: what people talk about and what they don’t; what they do behind closed doors. On top of that, this guy has unlimited money - he doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone, blah blah blah. He’s a lot of things, and he’s so alive, and that’s a really fun thing to play.”

The production’s 10-strong ensemble cast also includes Ed McVey (best known for his role as Prince William in Netflix drama The Crown) as Ripley, with Maisie Smith (Tiffany Dean in EastEnders and a 2020 finalist in Strictly Come Dancing) as his girlfriend, Marge. Bruce says that the entire cast have become firm friends, and that the scenes when they’re all on stage at once are especially thrilling. Indeed, the book’s famous line - ‘We’re always being watched’ - and themes of voyeurism and surveillance are cleverly depicted on stage by having the main protagonists - particularly Ripley - constantly watched by the rest of the cast.

“Tom Ripley is being haunted by these figures within his mind, and that gives the ensemble such a huge part to play. They’re haunting him! We come up from under the platform, from out of it, from the wings. We really intersect. In the bits where the ensemble get involved, it’s almost like they’re controlling and directing Ripley, much like on a TV studio or film set.”

Speaking of sets, the book (and film, and TV series) jumps about between exotic international locations - so how does the play address that element?

“Through the staging and lighting. We’re essentially in this huge light cage, and the lights change corresponding to where we are. We start in New York, and then Tom makes his way over to Italy… it’s just about switching it up.

“We’re basically on this huge platform with a huge hole in the middle. It’s a bright white canvas, and combined with the lights, it makes for a lovely eerie setting when we want it to, and a beautiful Italian summer when we need it. It’s really cleverly designed. It makes you sit a little forward in your seat. It’s really engaging, and definitely a piece of theatre that keeps you thinking way after you leave.”

Bruce also believes The Talented Mr Ripley is the perfect show in which to make his professional stage debut (“I’d been holding out for a part such as this”). He is eternally grateful for a tip-off about the role given to him by his “guardian angel” Rob Kelly, his casting director on Free Rein. Getting the part meant he had to quickly rekindle the skills developed in theatre work as a youngster, since he has no formal drama training.

“I grew up doing stage, so it became all about tapping back into projection, voice, posture… After that, the acting follows, and I felt like I could let loose a little more and flex that muscle again. It’s a huge cliché, but that’s what it’s like to be on stage - you’re constantly flexing those muscles to reach the back wall. I’m blessed, and I’m very, very happy. I definitely hope to follow up this project with more theatre. That’s my ideal.”

The Talented Mr Ripley shows at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, from Monday 13 to Saturday 18 April, and then at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre from Monday 20 to Saturday 25 April

By Steve Adams