Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts
★★★★☆ Pleasing
Festival Theatre: Tue 3 – Sat 7 Mar 2026
Review by Hugh Simpson
The touring production of Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts at the Festival Theatre will certainly please any fans of the grumpy detective, but is also an impressive, intelligent piece of theatre in its own right.
A death on stage at the Oxford Playhouse during a production of Hamlet at first appears to be suicide. Chief Inspector Morse, of Thames Valley CID, who was in the audience when Ophelia collapsed, is not convinced. The fact that several of those connected with the production are figures from his own past threatens to muddy the waters.
Tachia Newall (Lewis) and Tom Chambers (Morse). Pic: Johan Persson.
While Morse (and long-suffering sidekick Sergeant Lewis) first appeared in a series of books by Colin Dexter, it’s the 1987 to 2000 television series that brought the character immortality – to the extent that it has since spawned both a sequel (Lewis) and a prequel (Endeavour).
The programme’s influence was such that Dexter subsequently changed elements of the books (Morse driving a Jaguar and not a Lancia, Lewis being younger and Geordie rather than older and Welsh) to reflect the TV adaptation’s success.
It’s difficult to remember just how different the programme was when producer Kenny McBain first brought it to the screen. So much about it – the feature-length format, the use of film on location, the direction, the casting, the incidental music – marked it out.
influential
It has been hugely influential, for both good and ill; the ‘detective who is a domestic failure’ swiftly became a cliché, while it is now commonplace for detective dramas to last two hours per episode regardless of whether they have the plot or characterisation to sustain it.
None of this is the fault of Morse, whose success was due in no small part to the performances of John Thaw and Kevin Whately. And it is to the credit of Tom Chambers and Tachia Newall, who play Morse and Lewis here, that they do not try to impersonate their predecessors.
Teresa Banham and Tom Chambers. Pic: Johan Persson.
Chambers, a well-known television face who himself has form for playing detectives, is somewhat scarily now older than Thaw was when he first played Morse. He puts his own stamp on the character, with a pleasingly grounded, unshowy performance that tones down the gruffness but is still instantly recognisable as the Chief Inspector.
Newall, meanwhile, plays Lewis as clearly from the North-West of England rather than the North-East, and this is once again a carefully drawn portrayal that is very effective.
It helps that Alma Cullen, who wrote the play, was a writer on the television series, as this could easily be a lost episode from it. It is an original story, but the setting, characterisations and concerns are all recognisable. However, while fans will get the most out of it, it would certainly be possible for anyone with no previous knowledge of the franchise to get a great deal from the production.
a timeless feel
This is not actually a new play (there was a previous tour in 2010, and long-time Edinburgh resident Cullen passed away in 2021) but there is something of a timeless feel to it. It is set in 1987, and often harks back to 25 years earlier, but in many ways seems modern. Indeed, it is only dated by the occasional weak joke presaging the ubiquity of mobile phones or computers.
The whodunnit part of the play is possibly its least effective element, but that just shows that this is far from being your average potboiler of a detective drama. Too many adaptations of beloved television dramas trade hugely on the goodwill of the audience, but in this case everyone has done their best to ensure it succeeds on its own terms.
Charlotte Randle and Spin Glancy. Pic: Johan Persson.
Much is familiar, of course, including the use of Barrington Pheloung’s iconic theme tune, but this is no lame retread. The direction of Anthony Banks is lucid and perfectly paced. Colin Richmond’s set is wonderful; it often allows for several discrete acting areas that means scenes can be ‘intercut’ as they would be on TV, which works beautifully.
Lizzie Powell’s lighting is beautifully atmospheric, while Beth Duke’s sound design is sharp and inventive.
The supporting cast is also extremely strong, benefiting from characters that are more carefully drawn than the genre often permits. Jason Done is extremely good as two contrasting figures from Morse’s own history; the ‘woman from the past for whom the inspector still carries a torch’ is perhaps overused in the world of Morse, but Teresa Banham plays the part very well.
The various figures from the theatre company are also discharged with skill by the ensemble (James Gladdon, Spin Glancy, Josh Katembala, Olivia Onyehara and Eliza Teale) with Charlotte Randle’s faded, alcoholic Verity particularly strong.
There would certainly be an audience for a Morse play that was a simple exercise in nostalgia, living on past glories. That this stands up so well on its own terms therefore reflects very well on all concerned.
Running time: Two hours and 15 minutes (including one interval)
Festival Theatre, 13/29 Nicholson Street, EH8 9FT
Tuesday 3 – Saturday 7 March 2026
Daily at 7.30 pm; Matinees Thurs, Sat at 2.30 pm
Tickets and details: Book here.
Glasgow Theatre Royal, 282 Hope Street, Glasgow G2 3QA
Tue 31 Mar – Sat 4 Apr 2026
Tue – Sat: 7.30pm; Mats Thurs, Sat: 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
The Cast of Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts. Pic Johan Persson
ENDS
