Review | 'The jury’s out on this version of Inspector Morse': House of Ghosts at Chichester Festival Theatre
At first, I thought I had walked into the wrong theatre.
Expecting to see DCI Morse and DS Lewis puzzling over a murder, instead a monologue from Hamlet ensued before being cut short by Ophelia’s entrance.
A cry from the audience was the first sign we were in fact watching a whodunnit rather than Shakespeare.
Soon after Ophelia began wretching and convulsing before lying still as Morse finally arrived onstage to secure the crime scene.
That’s more like it, I thought.
Using the Festival Theatre itself was a clever foil to set up the show, which is the first theatrical outing for Colin Dexter’s characters – having already entered the public imagination via the medium of television.
This adaptation by Alma Cullen sees Morse uncover dark secrets about his own past as he tries to figure out what happened to Rebecca, the actress playing Ophelia, whittling down the list of suspects from the rest of the company and other key players in his life.
I have to confess, my knowledge of Morse in any form is limited, so I was coming to this with fresh eyes – but I had my mum with me to give me a TV show fan’s opinion.
Tom Chambers of Father Brown and Strictly fame played Morse with what my mother felt was a bit too much humour compared to John Thaw’s portrayal – but I found his version to be charming.
Lewis, too, was an endearing foil to Morse, played by the dashing Tachia Newall.
Where the show was lacking for me was in its production values and the script.
In the case of the former, the tone was set from the off by the dreadful blonde ponytail pinned to Rebecca’s head that didn’t match the actress’ hair colour.
The sets got better from here on in, but still there was a whiff of high quality am-dram rather than professional touring production.
This also infiltrated the script.
Why was a key character only introduced after another was killed off, to be played by the same actor?
Why was the production of Hamlet still going ahead despite an ongoing police investigation into the death of the leading lady?
When the culprit was finally revealed, the denouement was confusing enough that it did not land – perhaps the worst offence for a murder mystery – having to be explained after by Morse to Lewis in the pub.
Was I entertained? Yes.
Would I see this again? The jury’s out on this one.
Until Saturday, January 10.