THE TALENTED MISTER RIPLEY Set for Greenwich Theatre

One man's fascination with The Talented Mr Ripley is bringing the captivating story to the stage at Greenwich Theatre in September after great reviews and audience reaction at the New Diorama Theatre in Euston earlier this year.

Director Mark Leipacher, who lives in Blackheath, adapted Patricia Highsmith's novel for The Faction ensemble theatre group he founded at the New Diorama in 2008.

"I first encountered the Minghella film in 1999," said Mark. "I then read the novel and discovered what a different experience it was from the film and thought how well it might work on stage. I then discovered there was an existing stage adaptation and so I abandoned the idea."

Years later Mark read the stage adaptation and again found it a different experience from the novel. The idea was rekindled but at that time all his energy was taken up with establishing The Faction.

"But when it came to planning our 2015 Rep Season," said Mark, "I thought it would be a great show for the ensemble, especially as it was the 60th anniversary of the novel's publication. The aim was to put the novel on stage as faithfully and dramatically as possible.

"It was an absolute joy to adapt, Highsmith is a genius and I'm very proud of the work. It's possibly the closest I've come to realizing the world of the play as it exists in my head since Mary Stuart in 2012."

Mark, who trained as an actor at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, performed at Greenwich Theatre in The Faction's Prometheus last September. "We love Greenwich," he said. "In many ways it's the ideal auditorium for our work - a big, open, epic space that really lets our productions breathe.

"Entering the auditorium and passing the poster for Jonathan Miller's ensemble seasons at Greenwich, we always feel a tug of connection. Romeo & Juliet, playing alongside The Talented Mr Ripley, makes for a great season of work and we're really pleased that Greenwich gets to see it.

"It's also wonderful to have the support of James Haddrell, who really seems to respond to our work and believes the Greenwich audience has an appetite for it. It's great for me and co-director Rachel Valentine Smith, who also lives locally, to commute!"

The Faction had to get fresh stage rights to stage the play at Greenwich but James, the theatre's Artistic and Executive Director, said: "I never had any doubts because I saw it in January and thought it was fantastic. It's odd that it hasn't been done on stage before because it's such a theatrical story - a tale of one man taking on another identity, the way he performs that other identity to so many people, and the way that it threatens to spiral out of control. Tom Ripley is really the ultimate actor, so Christopher Hughes, the actor playing Ripley, has a lot to live up to, but his performance in the role at the New Diorama earlier this year was astonishing. It really is a special performance."

*The Talented Mr Ripley on Tues-Sat, Sept 1-5, will be followed by Romeo & Juliet on Tues-Sat, Sept 8-12.