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The Talented Mr Ripley is coming to The Belgrade

  • 7 minutes ago
  • 6 min read

The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, adapted and directed by Mark Leipacher, at the Belgrade Theatre from 13 to 18 April. 

Preview and interviews with the leading actors.


Producers Jack Maple, Thomas Hopkins, SAMS Entertainment and Carl Moellenberg are delighted to bring the sell-out 2025 tour to further venues in 2026 including York Theatre Royal, and visits Aylesbury, Aberdeen, Guildford, Windsor, Dublin, Poole, Eastbourne, Colchester, Coventry, Wolverhampton, and finishing in Salisbury in May. Starring Ed McVey (The Crown, Netflix), Maisie Smith (Eastenders, BBC) and Bruce Herbelin-Earle (Free Reign, Netflix) who continue in the roles of ‘Tom Ripley’, ‘Marge Sherwood’ and ‘Dickie Greenleaf’ respectively.

 

"I never wanted to murder anyone. It was necessary."

 Step into a world of deception, desire, and deadly ambition. How far would you go to become someone else?

 

Tom Ripley is a nobody – scraping by in New York, forging signatures, telling little white lies – until a chance encounter changes everything. When a wealthy stranger offers him an all-expenses-paid trip to Italy to bring home his wayward son, Dickie Greenleaf, Tom leaps at the opportunity.

 

But in the sun-drenched glamour of 1950s Italy, surrounded by shimmering waters and whispered secrets, Tom is seduced by the life Dickie leads – the freedom, the wealth, the effortless charm. Fascination turns to obsession, and as his grip tightens on Dickie’s world, the lines between truth and deception begin to blur. What starts as an innocent opportunity, spirals into a chilling game of lies, identity theft, and murder.


Ed McVey (centre) as Tom Ripley & the cast. Photo credit Mark Senior.
Ed McVey (centre) as Tom Ripley & the cast. Photo credit Mark Senior.

 

In recent Q & A interviews, here’s what the leading actors had to say:


 Questions to Ed McVey who plays Tom Ripley:

 What hooked you in about the play?

Ed McVey: I was a big fan of the other iterations, and I wanted to make my own go of it. And it's worked out really well. The audiences have been really enjoying it and I've been enjoying it too. It's all I've wanted it to be so far.

 

Question: Is it scary following in the footsteps of Matt Damon, John Malkovich and Andrew Scott, who have all played Tom on screen?

Ed McVey: No, it's incredibly exciting. I think to follow in those footsteps is an absolute privilege. I'm really excited and glad that I get to do my own interpretation of it. I've avoided rewatching them, though. Well, I've actually never seen the John Malkovich version, but I have watched the other two and I'm a big fan of them. I'm looking forward to finishing this job so I can go back and watch them again, especially the Matt Damon film, which I haven't seen since I was a young teenager and I can hardly remember it.

 

Question: You came to fame as Prince William on The Crown. How was that experience?

Ed McVey: It was quite overwhelming but it was such a well-oiled machine and they were very welcoming of new people coming in. It was a crazy experience but I loved it, and working with actors of that calibre every day meant I got to sort of cherry-pick from what they were doing.

 

Question: Did you get starstruck?

Ed McVey: Very early on in the audition process I was brought in to do a table read, even though I wasn't cast yet. There I was in a room with all these amazing people, so I think I got that out of my system quite quickly, but I was definitely like, 'Oh my god, I can't believe this is happening'.

 

Question: You're still only 26 years old. Have your feet touched the ground yet?

Ed McVey: I'm so grateful for the trajectory I'm having with the work I'm doing, and getting back to theatre was really important for me. It's something that I was quite apprehensive about, so I'm glad that I've been able to break down that barrier and get back to it because this is very much what I love and how I fell in love with acting in the first place.


Maisie Smith as Marge Sherwood & Bruce Herbelin-Earle as Dickie Greenleaf. Photo credit Mark Senior.
Maisie Smith as Marge Sherwood & Bruce Herbelin-Earle as Dickie Greenleaf. Photo credit Mark Senior.

 

Questions to Maisie Smith who plays Marge Sherwood:

Question: What hooked you in about the play?

Maisie: The story is timeless. It's been told a few times, but our adaptation is very different and very new, so it was just irresistible to me. Plus, this is the first time that it's been done on stage.


Question: Is it scary following in the footsteps of Gwyneth Paltrow and Dakota Fanning, who have both played Marge on screen?

Maisie: Do you know what? It isn't, but that's because I haven't been focusing on other adaptations of the story. It's been told many times in different ways and no portrayal of these characters has ever been the same. That's why I try not to think about other people's performances too much and just do it my own way.


Question: When you first landed the role of Tiffany on EastEnders your mum said the character was a little madam, just like the young you... Is that how you saw yourself?

Maisie: That sounds about right. I think I may have got the part of Tiffany based off of me, because apparently I walked into the room and just chucked the script to the side and said, 'I don't need it.' That's when they were like, 'OK, I think we've found Tiff!'


Question: What are your memories of your time on the show?

Maisie: I had such a fun time there. It was hard work and I always say that we did, like, 10 scenes a day most days, whereas in most other jobs you wouldn't ever do that many. I didn't go to drama school so it was challenging, but I felt like I learned so much from being around such talented people.

 

Question: What was your takeaway from doing Strictly Come Dancing in 2020?

Maisie: I can't believe I even got paid for it! I got to stretch myself more than I even knew I could, and that lead to me being in the Strictly Ballroom musical - which Craig Revel Horwood directed.


Ed McVey (front) as Tom Ripley & Bruce Herbelin-Earle as Dickie Greenleaf. Photo credit Mark Senior.
Ed McVey (front) as Tom Ripley & Bruce Herbelin-Earle as Dickie Greenleaf. Photo credit Mark Senior.

Questions to Bruce Herbelin-Earle who plays Dickie Greenleaf:

Question: What hooked you in about the play the first time round?

Bruce: Well, I love the Matt Damon film and the Netflix series that came out a couple of years ago, and as this is the first time that it's been put on stage of course I wanted to get my hands on it. I felt like I could do a lot with the character and I was just excited to get involved.

 

Question: Is it scary following in the footsteps of Jude Law, who famously played Dickie in the film version?

Bruce: I guess I could have worried about it, but I'm really keen to do my own take on things. I'd be curious to see what he thinks of it, actually, but my Dickie is a little more dangerous, a little more unpredictable and a touch more aggressive in going after what he wants. Jude Law did a great, very charismatic performance in the movie, but I want to do something different.

 

Question: The Talented Mr Ripley is your first professional play. Are you finding it nerve-wracking, exciting or both?

Bruce: Definitely a bit of both. It's something I've been asking about doing for a little while now. I didn't go to drama school, so I think that puts me behind a long list of people in terms of having the opportunity to do professional theatre. But over the years I've made some really great connections and people have taken a chance on me to bring me into the room. With The Talented Mr. Ripley, it turned out to be a successful punt, so here I am on my first UK tour and experiencing all these theatres up and down the country. It's really magical and I'm very grateful.


 

 

 

 

 

 

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