The Talented Mr Ripley
Theatre Royal Windsor
until 28th February 2026
Adapted for the stage by: Mark Leipacher
Genre: Drama, Play
Duration: 2 hr 35 mins incl. interval
Originally written by Patricia Highsmith, immortalised on screen in The Talented Mr. Ripley starring Matt Damon, and most recently reimagined in the elegant monochrome Netflix series Ripley, with Andrew Scott, The Talented Mr Ripley has reinvented itself almost as frequently as its elusive protagonist. Now, as the novel marks its 70th anniversary, this latest stage adaptation by Mark Leipacher arrives in Windsor as part of its Southeast tour.
Tom Ripley is one of those rare fictional creations who feels almost historical, as though he might have drifted through the Riviera in real life, leaving only rumours behind. In truth, he sprang from Highsmith’s colourful imagination in 1952 when she observed a solitary man on the beach early one morning whilst on holiday in Positano. Ripley is not a flamboyant villain but something more disquieting – a man who believes it’s better to be a ‘fake somebody than a real nobody’.
The story begins in New York. Tom Ripley is scraping by when he is dispatched to Italy to persuade the wealthy Dickie Greenleaf (played rather charmingly by Bruce Herbelin-Earle) to return to America. Once immersed in the languid beauty of Mediterranean privilege, Tom becomes enthralled – by the lifestyle, by Dickie’s effortless charisma, and by the possibility of stepping into a more refined and exciting existence. Admiration shifts to obsession. Imitation turns to appropriation. And before long, Ripley’s talent for social camouflage slides into fraud and murder.
On stage, this narrative tightens into a tense psychological thriller. The set is suggestive rather than literal, evoking first a sepia filmic New York, then sun-drenched Italy, before gradually yielding to darker, more claustrophobic tones. Lighting does much of the atmospheric work, shifting from bright coastal ease to noir-inflected suspicion. And the choreography is just stunning, using the ensemble as a way of telling the story.
At the centre is Ed McVey (recently Prince William in The Crown), whose remarkable portrayal of Ripley is restrained and precise. We are drawn into Ripley’s thoughts as he shifts between his persona on stage and talking to the audience. Rather than playing him as overtly sinister, McVey leans into watchfulness. His Ripley studies the room and absorbs posture, cadence and confidence with unnerving speed. The effect is chilling because it feels plausible.
Seventy years after its publication, The Talented Mr Ripley remains unsettlingly contemporary. Its concerns, particularly those of curated identity and reinvention, resonate in an age shaped by social media and self-construction. Ripley is monstrous, but he is also recognisable: ambitious, insecure, hungry for beauty and belonging.
This Windsor stop on the tour offers a taut, intelligent rendering of Highsmith’s classic. Reminiscent of cinematic glamour and rich in psychological tension, it reminds us why Ripley endures – not simply as a villain, but as one of fiction’s most disturbingly adaptable creations.Top of Form
The Talented Mr Ripley is playing at The Theatre Royal Windsor until Saturday 28th February.
Reviewer: Klara Kallis