At first we think we’ve they’ve stumbled into the wrong play – a Shakespearian actor reciting Hamlet’s most famous lines to us as the curtain goes up at New Theatre Oxford on House of Ghosts, but when Ophelia dies grotesquely on stage rather than slipping into said floral brook, we knew something was up.
An audience member then starts shouting out from the auditorium, striding on stage and introducing himself as Inspector Morse, asking the audience to stay calm. Right play after all then.
House of Ghosts is a plot worthy of Morse, and is a wonderful revisiting of Oxford’s beloved detective
Thus House of Ghosts begins, instantly engaging us, the audience immediately invested, the play-in-a-play ruse hugely effective, actors and police bounding on stage from all directions, as all hell breaks loose.
For fans of the original Inspector Morse TV series, this new outing, written for the stage by Alma Cullen , is an extra bonus, because while not an original episode, the whodunnit framework set in 1987 gives us all a whole new mystery to enjoy.
Morse, played by Tom Chambers READ HIS INTERVIEW HERE, is therefore not only integral, literally taking centre stage from the word go, but quickly makes the part his own, while imbibing many of the famous police inspector’s recognisable mannerisms and characteristics – his introspection, quick temper and classical references all in evidence, alongside his ale drinking, music loving, crossword relishing, female-focused bent.
Morse has form with the theatrical ensemble, immediately at odds with famous director Lawrence Baxter: “Do you still have a hang up about sex Morse?”
But he’s got work to do, and it soon transpires that Morse has form with the theatrical ensemble, immediately at odds with the famous director Lawrence Baxter (Jason Done), old rivalries resurfacing: “Do you still have a hang up about sex Morse?”
And as the plot gallops along, these deep-seated grievances and lingering resentments muddy the waters as the close-knit luvvie group slowly dissolve into a bitter and acrimonious faction, accusing their fellow thespians of all manner of crimes as their deepest secrets are revealed and their former lives catch up with them.
The elusive Ellen (Teresa Banham), now an Oxford professor, still rejects Morse’s charms, Verity (Charlotte Randle) is only interested in reviving her acting career and won’t let her big comeback be thwarted by anyone, Justin, aka Hamlet (Spin Glancy) needs endless ego-stroking, catholic priest Monsignor Paul (Josh Katembala) has quite the past, while Freddy (James Gladdon) is fed up with the whole production threatening to jeopardise everything.
Tachie Newall as lewis provides the perfect counterfoil to the irascible inspector, bringing a zest and vitality to the well-loved character
Trying to make sense of it all, Morse and his trusted side kick Lewis (Tachie Newall), who is the perfect counterfoil to the irascible inspector, brings a zest and vitality to the well-loved character who earned his own subsequent series, have to negotiate their way through not only the brutal murder, but revisit Morse’s undergraduate years in Oxford to uncover why Ophelia (Eliza Teale) was murdered so savagely.
The pace is unrelenting in this the first ever adaption of the beloved and revered TV show, and while there were a few discrepancies; Morse drinking in The Crown, rather than his usual hostelries – The White Horse, The Old Bookbinders, The Turf Tavern, The King’s Arms or The Randolph – as someone remarked during the interval, trust an Oxford audience to pick that up.
Mixed with humour, both literal and inadvertent; “white burgundy with Schubert don’t you think?”, the plot twists and turns, leaving Morse and Lewis as bewildered as the rest of us, the picture continually distorted by new revelations just when the detective duo think they’re getting close to the truth.
the plot twists and turns, leaving Morse and Lewis as bewildered as the rest of us
House of Ghosts is a plot worthy of Morse, and is a wonderful revisiting of Oxford’s beloved detective, complete with his innate literal references, intellectual puzzles, failed romances, unrequited love, frustrations and sardonic mutterings.
And while they are big shoes to fill, Tom Chambers and his fellow cast members make light work of it, and it was a privilege to watch the drama unfold once again on Morse’s home turf.
Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts is at New Theatre Oxford until Saturday Jan 24. Book here: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/inspector-morse-house-of-ghosts/new-theatre-oxford/
