REVIEW: Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts – Theatre Royal, Glasgow

Hot on the heels of a stage adaptation of another well-loved detective favourite Midsomer Murders. It’s Colin Dexter’s iconic Inspector Morse who takes centre stage, over a quarter of a century after last appearing on the small screen in House of Ghosts.

It’s 1987 and the curtain rises on a production of Hamlet at the Oxford Playhouse. In the middle of the action a young actress sputters, gurgles and collapses in front of us, it’s clear she’s dead. The house lights rise and up from the auditorium steps our irascible hero to take command. Momentarily breaking the fourth wall, we the audience are treated as potential witnesses to the crime. Morse is reunited with a raft of characters from his university days and bitter rivalries and old secrets have to be unravelled before the brutal truth is revealed.

Alma Cullen who wrote several episodes of the TV series and a raft of radio adaptations has scripted this stage version. Told in a series of short scenes, we move between the theatre, pub, church  and police station as Morse endeavours to uncover the perpetrator of the heinous crime. There are inherent issues in adapting a complex TV crime drama with multiple locations for the stage, and the exposition-heavy, episodic nature of the staging gives little time for empathy to build or for character development. Colin Richmond’s set has clever elements, particularly the representation of the theatre within the theatre, however, the entire production takes place entirely in an unrelenting gloom, Lizzie Powell’s lighting is dark and oppressive throughout.

It is an unenviable task to take on the challenge of a character like Morse, one who is indelibly imprinted in the minds of his fans and while his famous idiosyncrasies are not particularly overt, the real ale, opera and hopeless romanticism are represented here. Tom Chambers manages to strike a balance between familiarity and originality, his portrayal is composed and controlled, but inevitably the long-lasting impression made by the late John Thaw, lingers long in the mind. Tachia Newall is a dynamic, energetic Lewis, providing the perfect counterpoint to his prickly boss. The rest of the cast are a mixed bag, from the contained delivery of Teresa Banham as Morse’s old love Ellen, the overplayed, stereotypical highly-strung portrayal of the actors by James Gladdon, Spin Glancy and Charlotte Randle, the questionable American accent from Olivia Onyehara as Harriet, to the nicely judged doubling of roles from Jason Done as Lwrence/Paul.

It’s a double edged sword in bringing a much-loved character to the stage: trying to find a balance between satisfying an established fan base and attracting an audience new to the material. It’s clear that care and thought has been given to both, and while it is an entertaining evening of theatre, ultimately House of Ghosts doesn’t quite measure up to its promise.

Runs until 4 April 2026 | Image: Johan Persson