The Crown’s Ed McVey and former EastEnders cast member and Strictly Come Dancing finalist Maisie Smith will take on the roles of Ripley and Marge in the show’s first ever UK tour.
The pair will play the roles in the UK tour of The Talented Mr. Ripley until the end of 2025. The show, based on Patricia Highsmith’s iconic novel, is set to begin touring at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham on 4th September.
Cheltenham’s Everyman Theatre will play host until 13th September before the stage show moves on to other venues including Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Oxford Playhouse and Bristol Old Vic. It is currently scheduled to tour until 22nd November, with 2026 dates to be announced.
An iconic story from the page and screen
2025 marks the 70th anniversary of Patricia Highsmith’s iconic novel, the source material for the 2000 Oscar nominated film starring Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow, and the 2024 Netflix adaptation starring Andrew Scott.
Ed McVey is best known for his role as Prince William in The Crown (Netflix) starring alongside iconic actors such as Imelda Staunton, Jonathan Pryce and Dominic West. His previous theatre work includes Camp Siegfried at The Old Vic.
Maisie Smith is an award-winning actress, best known for her portrayal of Tiffany Butcher in BBC’s EastEnders. In 2019 she won Children in Need: Strictly Come Dancing Special with Kevin Clifton and went on to reach the final of Strictly Come Dancing in 2020.
She starred as Fran in the UK tour of Strictly Ballroom The Musical, based on Baz Luhrmann’s award-winning film. In 2024, she played Chloe in the British gangster comedy Bermondsey Tales: The Fall of the Roman Empire. Most recently, she toured arenas across the UK and Europe as Beth in Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds – Spirit of Man Tour.
What’s the story?
How far would you go to be someone else? Tom Ripley is a nobody - until he’s offered an unexpected opportunity: travel to Italy and bring home the wealthy and carefree Dickie Greenleaf. But as Tom is drawn into Dickie’s glittering world of privilege, his obsession takes a dark turn. What begins as an innocent invitation spirals into a web of lies, identity theft and murder.
Set against the sun-drenched backdrop of 1950s Italy, the stage adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley brings Patricia Highsmith’s iconic novel to life with razor-sharp dialogue, psychological intensity and a chillingly charismatic antihero.
The show has been adapted and directed by Mark Leipacher (Mary Stuart, New Diorama theatre, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Wilton’s Music Hall/Theatre Royal Bath).
Group bookings are venue specific. For more information about The Talented Mr. Ripley tour, go to www.thetalentedmrripleyplay.com.
