Running until the 6th October, you don’t have much time left to catch Ian Rankins much loved and now much aged creation, Detective Inspector John Rebus on stage at The Repertory Theatre in Birmingham.
John Rebus has been with us for some time now, spanning some 20 novels, a graphic novel, radio plays and audio books. And now, for the first time John Rebus appears on stage, played by Charles Lawson well known for his role as Jim McDonald in Coronation Street. Supporting him we have Cathy Tyson playing Rebus’ longstanding and long-suffering partner in (detecting) crime, Siobhan Clarke and no Rebus story would be complete without the menacing and intimidating presence of Big Ger Cafferty, here played by John Stahl.
We’re reacquainted with Rebus in a quick scene in the stairwell of his flat (You know, I don’t remember him ever moving from that flat in all of these years), crossing the path of a young girl waiting for her friend to get back. A fast paced exchange between the curmudgeonly Rebus and the defiant Heather over what a young girl “dressed like that” (“like what?!?” comes the furiously indignant reply) should be doing hanging around shadowy high-rises, brings any newcomers to the world of Rebus up to speed with his position in life and general demeanour and lack of tact and political correctness in the modern world. Rebus finds out that young Heather is the daughter of one of his unsolved murder cases, 17 years cold, where the killer was never found. So begins the latest installment of the ballad of John Rebus as the ghosts of unsolved murders come back to torment him and the sins of his own doing return to haunt him.
The Rebus novels use Edinburgh as a character within itself, drawing attention to its architecture and the coming together of the ancient and the modern and the production tries hard with this. Big Gers seventh floor apartment is all modern girders and glass, whilst an old pub that Rebus visits an informant in, is old bar stools and arched windows with frosted glass. Here one of my favourite lines of the play springs forth: “This is one of the few places left I can get a pint and not have some floppy haired twerp thrust a tapas menu in my face”, showing the disdain that Rebus has for the march of progress in his city.
Used brilliantly in the production is the effect of light and shadows. Not surprising considering the name of the play, but the use of harsh light to cast long, lingering shadows is excellent, especially in our first glimpse of Big Ger Cafferty, stood in a doorway, brightly lit from behind, his shadow cast long over Rebus’ shabby flat.
Speaking of Big Ger, John Stahl does brillantly with the character, exuding arrogance and restrained violence whenever he graces the stage. He inhabits the character sharply, making him dangerous and menacing but also charming, like any good psychopath. The confident game of cat and mouse he plays with the increasingly bedraggled and twitchy Rebus is well told and acted by both parties and the impassioned and intense climax is something that will drag you to the edge of your seat as the implications of the past 25 years are finally dragged from the shadows, into the bright revealing light.
Rebus: Long Shadows by Ian Rankin and Rona Munro is playing at Birmingham Rep until the 6th October before it departs for its tour around the UK. For fans of whodunnits and crime thrillers, it’s definitely worth a look. If you’re a fan of Rebus, you have probably got your ticket already. If not, here’s the link: www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/rebus-long-shadows.html
Photographs courtesy of The Repertory Theatre and Robert Day.