The Talented Mr Ripley Northern Stage
4th March 2020
The stage is set. We can see a typewriter centre stage as a young man approaches, This man is no other Than Tom Ripley, a somewhat paranoid and confused character, who has trouble feeling comfortable in his own skin. All the cast play different roles at various times in the play and quite interestingly when they aren’t playing a character, they are essentially miming what’s going on in the scene or Mr Ripley’s mind, which at first is somewhat confusing, but you get used to it quickly enough.
I will call him Mr Ripley, because as interesting a character he is, I don’t find him particularly likeable, Calling him Tom betrays his twisted nature somewhat. Sure we can all relate to the aspects of his character, the struggle with light and dark and the awkwardness of human interactions, but this man is after all intelligent enough to see his flaws and rather than working on them, he merely turns them around to his own end, he is a manipulative con man, we get glimpses of why that may be, but it’s not solid enough to explain all his actions.
It takes a while for any humour to seep through, but it does come as we get to know Mr Ripley’s character. He sees himself as an actor and at times we see him visualising being on a film set, enacting certain somewhat twisted ideas, before the director, a kind of representation of his better and more logical side stops him and makes him redo the scene, until the best outcome is achieved.
We begin with Mr Ripley interacting with a rich father, whose son, Richard has left New York for Europe, specifically Italy. Richards father seems desperate to get him back to New York and has tracked down Mr Ripley, who he has somehow identified as One of Richards best friends, to make him a proposition. Find his son and bring him back to see his sick mother, who is dying of leukaemia. Mr Ripley isn’t too keen on this idea at first, until it becomes clear he can use it to his own end.
This production was very good and treats the source material very well. The acting is great, I particularly liked the actor playing the Italian detective and Richard’s father, although he looks like a younger version of William Defoe, so personally I struggled to shake this from my mind.
Actors miming scenes, other characters and actions that take place in Mr Ripley’s mind worked really well in certain parts and was confusing or distracting in others, but overall an interesting and effective method of adding colour and definition to the story. There’s one specific scene that works particularly well and looks like theatrical gymnastics, but we can tell from the audio what is really going on.
I was aware of the source material and some of the plot points, but I have never experienced the various other sources of this material, so I have no direct compassion, however I think it’s fair to say a lot of the people who have experience other versions of this material, have put this near the top of their lists. Overall an enjoyable watch.
Playing at the Northern Stage Thursday 5th March - Saturday 7th March.
Frank Cromartie Murphy
The Talented Mr Ripley
Northern Stage
Wednesday 4 March
A high-energy performance that gives the audience access to Ripley's mind as he journeys through a series of events taking him from a nondescript past to a future populated with ghosts.
The set is visually stunning, and the members of Faction richly deserve the plaudits they have received in earlier reviews. It's a great piece of physical theatre.
Watch out for the stylised moments where the acting is “cut” to explore the alternative actions being considered by Ripley and the beautiful ballet-like elegance of the stylised depiction of intimacy.
Better than the film. And in a well-loved NE venue. Go.
Catherine Lee
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