Based on Colin Dexter’s book series, which was also adapted into the much-loved TV series, Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts takes the eponymous Inspector to the theatre, as he investigates the murder of a young actress, who dies during a performance of Hamlet.
It’s a nice touch setting the play in a theatre. Alma Cullen, who wrote four stories for the TV series, has a lot of fun with this meta aspect, with the house lights going up and Morse rushing onstage from the audience, as the director appears in the circle. The cast address us as if we are the audience of the play within a play. On that, it was a brilliant choice choosing Hamlet, perhaps the most famous example of the play within a play narrative, especially as the play within Hamlet is an imitation of the early part of Hamlet, thus exposing the murderer.
Unfortunately, the opening scene is the highlight of the writing. It’s a well-written play but it’s never particularly engaging, aside for one of the bar scenes later on. The TV show is known for its slow, deliberate storytelling, and the play honours that, but it falls short of capturing its high-brow intellectualism. It is not particularly smart and suspenseful so it is difficult to invest in the story, especially when twists are handled so delicately and matter of fact.
Whilst the play may feel like one of the books or episodes brought to life, and the target audience is of course fans of the books and the show, there is a missed opportunity in not breathing fresh life into it and perhaps introducing new fans to Morse media. Murder mysteries today are often more energetic and engaging, with twists and turns in abundance. House of Ghosts could have kept its signature tone whilst making it feel more modern. It ultimately feels like it is trapped in the ’80s, which will feel nostalgic for fans but dated for newbies.
It’s an excellent cast, led by Tom Chambers, who is wasting his talents on mediocre stage thrillers.
Tachia Newall is well cast as his right-hand man, Detective Sergeant Lewis, and it was nice to learn a little bit about his home life, but it’s ultimately irrelevent to the plot and just adds to a runtime which already feels too long. In the novels, Lewis is Welsh, and in the TV series, he’s Geordie, so it feels only fitting that his origin is changed again for the play. This time around, he sounds Manc! It’s refreshing casting a person of colour in the secondary lead role, and Newall is both talented and easy on the eyes.
The cast also includes Teresa Banham, James Gladdon, Spin Glancy, Robert Mountford, Olivia Onyehara, Charlotte Randle, Eliza Teale, and Josh Katembela (ensemble). Teale appears in the first scene as murder victim Rebecca and then never again (not even during the curtain call). It’s hard to care for a character who only had minutes of stage time, and not even as herself but rather Ophelia in Hamlet. It feels like a real waste giving an actor mere minutes onstage. Since the play already has one actor playing two characters, and one ensemble cast member, it would have made more sense to have the Rebecca actor also be the ensemble actor or double as the director’s wife. Speaking of the director’s wife, I’m not sure why Onyehara was told to put on an American accent. Was it to make her seem more out of place, annoying and unlikeable? And speaking of the actor during double duties – it’s quite jarring having them drop dead as their main character only to reappear as a new character moments later.
The majority of the cast spend the show overacting, which is perhaps how they have been directed because most of them are so consistently over the top. I get that they’re playing eccentric thespians but few theatre professionals are quite so dramatic off the stage. It feels too heightened, especially for a play that is otherwise so drawn out (and dare I say drab?), thus creating a tonal imbalance.
Whilst the play is set in a theatre, the design is not particularly interesting. The costumes are good, and the set is adequate, but the lighting is lacking in creativity. It’s all so dull and gloomy, which I appreciate captures the tone, and probably gives it a similar aesthetic to the TV show, but this is the theatre, darling.
I recognise that I am not the target audience for this play but not even the oldies in the audience seemed to be particularly entertained. It feels like a tired procedural that has forgotten its own stagecraft. It may provide a fleeting sense of nostalgia for the most zealous Morse devotees, but for everyone else, including fans of the book and/or TV series, it’s a mystery that isn’t quite worth the effort of solving.
Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts runs at Lowry (Lyric Theatre) until April 11 and ends its UK tour at Salisbury Playhouse from April 14 to 18.
JADAR 