Tom Chambers brings Inspector Morse to life on stage at His Majesty's Theatre. Image - provided by Aberdeen Performing Arts
If you arrived late at Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts at His Majesty’s Theatre, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d wandered into the wrong play.
After all, there was Hamlet mid-soliloquy with a rather impressive Dunnottar Castle-esque backdrop. It is when Ophelia arrives and starts choking to death – “I don’t remember that bit from Shakespeare” – that the penny drops.
Cue hue and cry and the rangy figure of Chief Inspector Morse springing onto the stage to shut down the crime scene as the unforgettable bars of the theme tune from the Morse series bursts into life.
The Prince of Denmark was just the intro for the action to follow – much like the template of the iconic TV show with John Thaw at its heart as the melancholic, beer-loving, crossword-solving, Oxford Don-level detective.
Only for this stage version, the Jaguar-driving sleuth is essayed by Tom Chambers as he leads the talented cast through a twisting, turning story with murder most foul set in a theatre.
Fans of Morse will enjoy the yarn, richly redolent of the TV series with a grumpy Morse trying to steer himself and his trusty sidekick Sergeant Lewis through a labyrinth of clues, misdirection, and wrong steers.
Together again - Tachia Newall as Lewis and Tom Chambers as Morse. Image - Johan Perrson
Complicating matters is that the key suspects and witnesses are all figures from Morse’s own days as an Oxford student, complete with a maze of lost loves, historic rivalries, and some not-so-obvious connections.
These ghosts from Morse’s past come back to haunt him - and resurrect some personal sliding doors moments - in a perplexing murder case where he finds himself wrong-footed more than once.
The joy of the piece for the audience is trying to join the dots along with – or even ahead of – Morse. But it spins around so deftly that even when you think you’ve got the wrong ‘un bang to rights, you are suddenly confounded and off in a whole new and entirely unexpected direction.
At the heart of the story is, of course, Morse. Chambers captures the essence of Colin Dexter’s creation, leaning into the more sympathetic aspects of the character from the TV series than the less likeable abrasiveness of the novels.
There’s the odd flash of Thaw’s mannerisms, but this is Chambers’ Morse
The ensemble cast of Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts. Image - Johan Perrson
Special mention, too, goes to Tachia Newall whose Lewis perfectly encapsulates the eager-to-please sergeant, one who is aware of his boss’s formidable strengths, but also his shortcomings –even short-sightedness when it comes to fixating on a prime suspect.
Nostalgia sits at the heart of this production – nostalgia for the TV series and for the era where the action is set, back in 1987 in a days before mobile phones and the internet.
And nostalgia, too, for a good old-fashioned, well-crafted whodunnit police procedural that keeps you guessing all evening long.
Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts is at His Majesty’s Theatre until Saturday, March 28. You can find more information and tickets at the Aberdeen Box Office website.