Actor Tom Chambers admits to being daunted at the prospect of following in the footsteps of John Thaw from the much-loved TV series Inspector Morse when he takes on the iconic role in House of Ghosts, coming to New Theatre Oxford this month.
“But it’s a thrilling challenge,” he smiles, “and it’s a delicious treat for anyone who is a fan of Morse like I’ve been throughout the decades.”
‘it’s a delicious treat for anyone who is a fan of Morse’
House of Ghosts is a chilling mystery which unfolds when a young actress suddenly dies on stage during a performance, and Detective Chief Inspector Morse embarks on a gripping investigation. What begins as a suspicious death inquiry takes a darker turn when the legendary inspector, together with DS Lewis, uncovers a connection to sinister events in his own past, 25 years earlier.
Exciting then for the endless Morse fans, but for many, House of Ghosts will be a brand-new story full of surprising twists and turns. Chamber adds: “Morse is such a fantastic brand and we’re both really excited about the fact that the audience is going to see something that the vast majority won’t have seen before.
‘This character is so legendary and is such an iconic part of the nation’s stable TV diet’
“Which is great fun but daunting too because you know the audience wants to see something in the style of what they’ve seen before. They don’t want to see something completely, shockingly unexpected. But it’s an amazing opportunity and I’m a big fan of the TV show.
And as Inspector Morse was hailed as the greatest British crime series of all time, and inspired the equally beloved spin-offs Lewis and Endeavour, they are big shoes to fill? “This character is so legendary and is such an iconic part of the nation’s stable TV diet. But I’m not necessarily someone who’s really modern and cool, and I think Morse is like that too.
“Besides, it’s such a fantastic, reliable brand, and this piece of writing by Alma Cullen is fascinating. She was one of the original four writers from the very first series when it came out in 1987 so he’s very much the Inspector Morse that we know and love.
“He’s not necessarily chivalrous, because he can be quite hard at times; he can harsh, very black and white and very honest. Morse says it how it is, but he does have a sort of gentlemanly manner about him. I like playing that and exploring it.”
‘Morse says it how it is, but he does have a sort of gentlemanly manner about him. I like playing that and exploring it’
So what’s the enduring fascination with Morse? “We are curious creatures, aren’t we?” Chamber says. “We like a puzzle, we like a challenge and the stimulation that goes with it. And in the theatre, of course, everyone is in the same space, in the dark, watching the mystery unfold on stage, although there’s a different kind of energy to this because we’re back in 1987 where there are no mobile phones and it’s all analogue.”
“There’s also the aspect of ‘How did they do it?’, ‘Why did they do it?’ and ‘How did they get away with it?’ if indeed they did. We will never tire of thrillers and murder mysteries because they’re sort of in our DNA.”
As for why he’s both thrilled and daunted about heading the cast for the tour, Tom says: “The thrill for me is in the dialogue and the writing, the camaraderie between Morse and Lewis and their relationship – where you have that classic thing of him putting Lewis down but with a sense of irony or jest and sometimes despair.”
‘The thrill for me is in the dialogue and the writing, the camaraderie between Morse and Lewis and their relationship’
Tachia Newall plays Detective Sergeant Lewis and says: “Lewis is really loyal to Morse and Morse in turn respects his views, even if he gets exasperated by him at times. Morse is from quite an educated background, while Lewis’s accent leads people to believe he’s not that well-educated by comparison.”
“But actually Lewis is pretty down-to-earth and hard-working. He loves his family and he’s usually thinking about getting home to his wife and kids, but he also wants to get to the bottom of the mystery.”
‘we do seem to be moving from one crisis to another, and here’s this guy who wants to make things better. That struck me as a story that audiences would enjoy today’
Having already directed Dial M for Murder, The Girl on the Train, Gaslight and Strangers on a Train, Anthony Banks is well-versed in stage thrillers, but why stage it now? “The world has gone a little sour again, we do seem to be moving from one crisis to another, and here’s this guy who wants to make things better. That struck me as a story that audiences would enjoy today,” he says.
Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts, New Theatre Oxford, Jan 20-24. Book here: https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/inspector-morse-house-of-ghosts/new-theatre-oxford/
