Review: Inspector Morse – House of Ghosts, Richmond Theatre

17.09.2025  It is 25 years since the last episode of Inspector Morse was filmed, one of the iconic shows in the history of British television. The series had two main characters: John Thaw as a taciturn, curmudgeonly detective with a musical soul, and the city of Oxford itself which (despite the unusually high number of violent deaths) seemed a place of beauty and wonder with its dreaming spires, set in a lush green countryside — dotted with waterside pubs where Thaw would sup a pint and mull over the evidence with his sidekick Lewis. Neither Thaw (who sadly died in 2002) nor Oxford is available to be put on stage in this theatrical revival of Morse and his world, so experienced writer Alma Cullen (who actually scripted four episodes of the original Morse TV series) and director Anthony Banks have done the intelligent thing and not tried to copy them. Instead they have created a version of Morse that is perhaps a little softer and more impulsive than Thaw’s, showing his character in some less familiar lights. The character is forced to reflect back to his much younger, idealistic self of 25 years earlier, just before he was forced to drop out of his Oxford university career.

That undergraduate self and his circle of friends, loves and enemies provide the key to the play’s title, ‘House of Ghosts’, and to the story — which is a different kind of Morse plot, set claustrophobically backstage in a theatre rather than among soaring, honey-coloured architecture. The very atmosphere is consciously stagey, with short pithy scenes and a minimalist set that is changed by the actors themselves in view of the audience. One of the most successful moments of the night was the immersive drama at the very start when the whole theatre became the stage, the house lights went up and the audience briefly wondered if they were indeed about to be asked to vacate their seats and leave the ‘crime scene’. The music was super-loud and the lighting dramatic. Watchers have to concentrate hard for the clues, which are fleeting and naturally are sandwiched between hefty red herrings.

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There will be no spoilers in this review, but it is important to say for lovers of the TV series that this pacy, whip-smart stage revival is just as tightly plotted and multi-layered a whodunnit as any of the two-hour episodes of the past, with enough twists and turns in the second half to give you a case of vertigo. Some excellent acting turns add colour and variety to the action: particular praise goes to Robert Mountford as ruthless and egotistical theatre director Lawrence Baxter, who grabbed attention whenever he appeared on stage, and to Charlotte Randle, who was lively and entertaining as recovering alcoholic actress Verity Carr. Tachia Newall was an admirable Lewis, capturing the essence of the down-to-earth, drily funny persona pioneered by Kevin Whately.

But what of Morse himself? It was an incredible ask to step into those shoes, and while Tom Chambers has an engaging manner and a likeable vulnerability there were a few moments when I felt his Morse was a perhaps little light, lacking the rock-like obstinacy of the original. But he was very good in the places that called for the emotions that we don’t usually associate with Morse —unrequited love and tentative optimism about the future.

Morse is an astute choice of story to revive and the applause from the theatre audience was warm. An entertaining night out for lovers of detective stories.

Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts is at Richmond Theatre until 20 September

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