Baroque Theatre Company bring House of Ghosts to Exeter

Baroque Theatre Company announces its first touring production for 2015, and it promises to be a real treat for all Inspector Morse fans. House of Ghosts, by Alma Cullen, is an Inspector Morse mystery inspired by the original novels of Colin Dexter. House of Ghosts, the only Inspector Morse play written for the stage, will be directed by Adam Morley, produced by Claire Bibby and sponsored by Clarian Ltd. This stage-within-a-stage whodunit will tour venues across England from 27 March to 16 May 2015 (full details attached).

House of Ghosts will see Colin Dexter’s eponymous sleuth, as made famous by the late great John Thaw, return to the stage in this original play by the author of several episodes of the original TV series. From 1988 to 1991, Cullen wrote one 2-hour screenplay for each of the Inspector Morse series 3, 4, 5 and 6. During this period the series won the BAFTA, Royal Television Society and Writers’ Guild awards for best TV drama series.

With an intriguing incarnation of the unassuming, stoically-reserved, often grumpy Inspector Morse, House of Ghosts takes its cue firmly from theatrical history. The play opens with a performance from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. A young professional actress playing Ophelia dies suddenly mid-performance and Inspector Morse is immediately on the scene, having been in the audience. The stage is cordoned off, and becomes a fully-fledged murder scene. The plot delves deep into Morse's student-life in Oxford, re-uniting him with ghosts from his past, giving the audience an insight into the events which shaped the inspector’s later life.

Cast in the title role is Nigel Fairs as Chief Inspector Morse – Fairs’ credits include Oscar Wilde in In Extremis (Kean Productions), Frank Churchill in Emma, Noel Coward in Two Flats and a Sharp (both Classic Reaction) and Christopher Wren in The Mousetrap (West End). Recent roles include John George Haigh in his own award-winning play In Conversation with an Acid Bath Murderer, Gavin in another award-winner, My Gay Best Friend (co-written and performed with Louise Jameson), Douglas, Leonard and Elaine in his one man show Didn’t you used to be Derek Jacobi? (Tour) and Dr Watson in To Kill a Canary (Henley).

The role of Detective Sergeant Lewis will be played by Ivan Wilkinson. House of Ghosts’ large number of characters will be played by Paul Cleveland, Lawrence Ward, Andrew Nance, Ian Archdeacon, Claire Bibby, Helen Fullerton and Sarah Gain.

House of Ghosts director is award-winning Adam Morley. No stranger to radio, TV and theatre, Morley has directed over sixty productions including Newsrevue, the world’s longest running live comedy show at the Canal Café Theatre in London. To date, Morley has directed ten productions for Baroque Theatre Company including Great Expectations in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens in 2010, Up Pompeii, The 101 Dalmatians and most recently Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Christmas Carol. Morley is currently the associate director at Canal Café Theatre and artistic director of Baroque Theatre Company.

Claire Bibby, producer says: “House of Ghosts is the only Inspector Morse story written for the stage, so I’m thrilled to be granted the opportunity to tour it. This production is set in the 1980’s, Morse is in his late forties and is still developing his persona and traits at this stage of his life. Morse in the play presents a bridge between the characters in the new TV series of Endeavour and the long established Morse series with the late John Thaw that people know so well.”

Bibby continues: “Baroque Theatre Company has recently explored some iconic detective figures as part of our research and we identified Morse as a complex, fascinating character with many layers to his personality that we very much wanted to bring to theatre audiences. We are all intrigued by Morse, his multi-layered complex character, but he’s flawed, he makes mistakes in pursuit of the truth and that’s one of the many reasons we identify with him. With House of Ghosts’ thought-provoking plot, its array of characters, double-bluff and mystery, it’s easy to see why Chief Inspector Morse is one of the most iconic detectives ever.”

House of Ghosts’ visually stunning set by Adam Morley and clever use of stage will create a myriad of locations as the murder mystery unfolds. Lighting and sound is by James Wenn and costumes by Suzanne Bell.

The House of Ghosts 2015 tour comes to the Cygnet Theatre in Exeter on Wednesday 29 April.

Tickets are £12/£10 avaialble from the box office on 01392 277189 or www.cygnettheatre.co.uk.

Further information: www.baroquetheatre.com