Switzerland — Queensland Theatre Company

Overview

If it takes a fascinating person to write fascinating characters, then consider Patricia Highsmith absolutely enthralling. Her work really does speak for itself. Any author would dream to have her books — including Strangers on a Train, Carol, The Talented Mr Ripley and The Two Faces of January — on their resumes.

And while all of the above titles have been turned into films, playwright Joanna Murray Smith has done something different with Highsmith's own story. In Switzerland, she hypothesises about the last night in the writer's life. What if the scribe, then a recluse, had been convinced to write one more Ripley tale?

In the hands of a talented cast and crew, including director Paige Rattray and actors Andrea Moor and Matthew Backer, the Queensland Theatre Company ponders that very question. If you've ripped through any of Highsmith's printed tomes or watched the movies that followed, you'll be as keen as we are to find out the answer.