Switzerland (Ensemble Theatre) ★★★½

Written by Joanna Murray-Smith. Ensemble Theatre. 3 May – 8 Jun, 2024.

In art, as in life, timing is everything, and sometimes that comes down to simple luck. I can’t imagine the team at Ensemble Theatre knew that Netflix would drop its long anticipated ‘Ripley’, a new adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s ‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ starring “he’s-so-hot-right-now” Andrew Scott, at the same time as they had programmed Joanna Murray-Smith’s play Switzerland in which Highsmith considers writing a new Ripley novel as she nears the end of her life… but synchronicity is a wonderful thing.

In her later years, Highsmith (Toni Scanlan) has retreated to the Swiss Alps when Edward (Laurence Boxhall) , a lackey from her publishing company, arrives in an attempt to convince her to write one more, definitive Tom Ripley novel. Despite her protestations, she warms to the enthusiastic youth but slowly learns that his devotion is not what it seems.

To all reports, the real Patricia Highsmith was not a particularly nice person. Abrasive, racist, provocative, but undeniably smart, she was a woman of paradoxes (despite being outspokenly anti-semitic, she has serious relationships with two Jewish women). Murray-Smith translates this into a cantankerous but funny recluse, brought to life by Scanlan. She is always spoiling for a fight, and is excited to spar with Edward – her rage comes out most when he appears to give in.

Both Scanlan and Boxhall dance around each other in a powerplay of age, intelligence and expectations – both trying to corner the other into revealing their true thoughts. Highsmith pushes Edward to come up with a scenario worthy of Ripley and the result is like watching fan fiction being written under the original author’s eye. In some ways it is almost parental. As the first two acts dissect Highsmith’s legacy, and the act of creation more broadly, Murray-Smith never delves too deeply into the particular psychology of Highsmith – there doesn’t seem to be a great deal of specificity to the character and she could, in many ways, be replaced by any other famous author (imagine Conan Doyle considering one more Sherlock book, or Fleming one more Bond).

The character of Edward is a talentedly malleable foil for Highsmith. An adoring fan with his own motivation for wanting another Ripley story, he has been designed to get under her skin and push her in the directions the narrative wants to take. There is an element of camp beneath both performances, an arch sensibility that hints to the audience that not everything here is what it seems. Both characters are performing for each other in an attempt to manipulate.

Set & lighting design by Veronique Benett creates a believably chilling Swiss bunker, making use of the Ensemble’s height. One particular lighting cue near the end brought to mind some of Hitchcock’s iconic film imagery. A cabinet full of weapons takes the concept of Chekhov’s Gun to ridiculous lengths. 

The third act is where you will either be delighted or deflated by the evening. I won’t spoil the creative decisions Murray-Smith takes, but will say the audience was audibly shocked by the ending that is in many ways poetic, maybe too neat and poetic. Edward is almost reduced to a plot device and his character doesn’t quite ring true in retrospect. As a homage to Highsmith’s writing I thought it fell into pastiche rather than the intended tribute.

Using Highsmith and her literary creations to look at the concept of artistic legacy is definitely an interesting angle, and Switzerland takes the idea for a good spin, before pivoting away from introspection towards pure entertainment. And you definitely will be entertained.