Review: Switzerland, Ustinov Studio, Bath, until Saturday, September 1
Switzerland Ustinov Studio, Bath
Just as you need to pack a good crime novel in your bag for your holiday read, so this dark and delicious thriller at the Ustinov is the perfect summer theatre entertainment. Switzerland is a psychologically gripping drama starring Phyllis Logan – much loved as Downton Abbey’s housekeeper Mrs Hughes – as famous crime writer Patricia Highsmith. Author Joanna Murray-smith sets her play in the Swiss Alps in 1995 where Highsmith was living as a recluse. Creator of the charming if murderous character Tom Ripley in a series of novels that began with The Talented Mr Ripley in 1954, Highsmith’s best work is now behind her and she is a bigoted, vitriolic alcoholic. Enter Edward (Calum Finlay), a gauche young man sent by her New York publisher to try and coax one last novel out of her. The pair engage in a cat-and-mouse game peppered with razor-sharp dialogue that is at times extremely funny. Between them they arrive at a potential plot for a new Ripley novel, but Highsmith throws the onus of the nature of the murder on to Edward who must come up with a believable method by dawn. Gradually the tone becomes darker and as the pair discuss the morality of murder it becomes a matter of who will step into the role of murderer and who will be victim. The play is short, just one hour 40 minutes without an interval, and the plot is tight with an emotional punch, so there’s no let-up in the slow-build tension that holds you in its grip every step of the way. Phyllis Logan is excellent, absolutely holding centre stage, while Calum Finlay as Edward cleverly morphs from ingenue into something darker, almost without you noticing until the thrilling climax. Lucy Bailey’s direction is pacy (she was last seen in Bath directing the acclaimed 2013 production of King Lear starring David Haig) and the set – an atmospherically claustrophobic room with distant views of the Alps – is designed by William Dudley. It’s a terrific production and an absolute must for fans of Patricia Highsmith whose work includes Strangers on a Train, made into a film by Alfred Hitchcock; The Price of Salt recently released as the film Carol, and the big-screen adaptation of The Talented Mr Ripley starring Matt Damon as Tom Ripley, alongside Jude Law Gwyneth Paltrow and Cate Blanchett. Switzerland is premiering at the Ustinov Studio as part of the Theatre Royal Bath’s summer season until Saturday 1 September. Contact the box office on 01225 448844 or go online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk