Award winning writer Ian Rankin, creator of maverick Edinburgh polisman, John Rebus, who was recently been brought to life by Richard Madden in the recent BBC television adaptation, will see his beloved character on stage this autumn.
Rankin’s thirty plus novels have been translated into thirty-six languages and adapted for radio, the stage and the screen and now a new stage production by Daniel Schumann and Lee Dean in association with Cambridge Arts Theatre who present Rebus: A Game Called Malice by Ian Rankin and Simon Reade.
A dinner party in an Edinburgh mansion concludes with a murder mystery game created by the hostess so a murder needs to be solved. But are the guests, among them Inspector John Rebus, who have secrets of their own, threatened by the very game they are playing. Is he playing an alternative game where only he knows the rules?
The title role goes to Gray O’Brien, best known for his roles in Coronation Street, Peak Practice and Casualty with many theatre credits including The Magistrate at Pitlochry Festival Theatre. Having created the role of Jack Fleming for the stage in 2023, Billy Hartman, whose theatre credits include The Confessions of Gordon Brown at the Traverse Theatre and Scottish tour, reprises it for this UK tour while Endeavour’s Abigail Thaw plays Stephanie Jeffries.
Director Loveday Ingram, whose writing credits include a short film selected to represent Women’s Aid internationally for the campaign for Elimination of Violence Against Women, brings her extensive theatrical experience to the party that includes Dinner with Groucho at Dublin Theatre Festival, Belfast International Festival and Arcola Theatre.
The UK tour kicks off at the Cambridge Arts Theatre on 29th before a 5 night run at the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh starting on 10th September. The show moves to His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen on 16th September for 6 nights followed by another 5 night run in Glasgow’s Pavilion Theatre on 23rd. The UK tour continues to Bath, Cardiff, York, Malvern, Oxford, Cheltenham, Guildford and Poole.
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 