Rebus: A Game Called Malice at Edinburgh Festival Theatre and on tour – review

Ian Rankin has 25 Rebus novels to his name, but this is the first time he has put his Edinburgh detective on the stage. True, Rebus has appeared previously in a play – an adaptation of Long Shadows – but that one was scripted by Rona Munro. So, this is the first time Rankin has done the deed himself, albeit alongside co-writer Simon Reade.

It opened in Cambridge before beginning a regional tour, but its Edinburgh run was always going to be the one that generated the most hype. After all, this is home turf for Rebus and the play contains lots of Edinburgh-centric in-jokes that I can’t see catching on when it plays elsewhere. You have to know the city well, for example, to appreciate the significance of setting the story in a house on Heriot Row, and the frequent references to that street suggest Rankin understands the tongue-in-cheek nature of it, though I doubt those lines will get as many laughs in any of the other theatres A Game Called Malice plays in.

On one level, the plot is a fairly conventional whodunnit. It all takes place in one room of the Heriot Row house, with Rebus plus five other characters. A body is discovered upstairs, and Rebus has to ascertain who the culprit is, so it’s a familiar setting that welcomes the audience in.

Rebus fans might find that part of the problem, however. Rankin’s novels get their power from the grit and grime of what it’s like to be a working detective – someone who’s often compromised or forced to make tough choices – and for the evocative way they depict the city of Edinburgh. Aside from the Heriot Row references, there’s none of that here, and the opening device of the characters all playing a murder mystery game feels a little too cosy for the Rebus that established fans already love.

The pacing is a little problematic, too. The script throws in lots of red herrings, which are essential for a successful crime novel, but they can lead to clutter and confusion in a stage play. Sometimes there are too many themes to keep track of – gambling, debt, art forgery, crooked lawyers – and they jam into one another in a way that makes the plotting feel congested.

The central performance is very good, however. Gray O’Brien plays Rebus as washed up and scruffy, someone on the fringes of the social gathering, regularly seen with a glass in his hand. Next to him, alas, the other figures are fairly one-dimensional. There’s the wealthy older couple (Teresa Banham and Neil McKinven) who have a secret in their past, the possibly corrupt lawyer (Abigail Thaw) and the casino owner (Billy Hartman, who does a good job of reminding us that no nice guys make it in that profession). The young social media influencer (Jade Kennedy), however, is an uncomfortably sterotypical cardboard cutout.

Some of the dialogue is a little clunky, and the relationships between the characters can oscillate between extremes uncomfortably quickly; but A Game Called Malice will draw the crowds thanks to Rankin’s (and Rebus’) reputation, even though it’s not that well-crafted as a piece of theatre. There’s potential here though, and, with a bit of refinement, Rebus on the stage could be a rich seam for Rankin to mine.