“A whodunnit done well!”
Alma Cullen’s adaptation of the characters of the Morse universe are given new life and breadth in this expansion to the story and new mystery. For any lovers of a good murder mystery sprinkled with some gallows humour then this is worth the watch.
Obviously, I don’t want to spoil too much of the plot here, where would be the fun in that? The play starts with a production of Hamlet, Justin (played by Spin Glancy) gives a soft and touching rendition to the well-known ‘to be or not to be’ speech. As Ophelia/Rebecca enters I found myself settling into the rhythm of Shakespeare with ease. During this section we are ‘ticked’ with the use of sound, hearing someone talking during the production. As the actors reacted to this, we are quickly reassured this is part of the show.
Then it happens, Rebecca doubles over, laughs, then collapses, dead. We’re thrust back into what we’re all here to see. Next, charging down the isle of the stalls comes the eponymous Morse (Played by Tom Chambers) and at last the mystery begins!
The creative use of the space was a refreshing touch, with actors appearing from the upper circle amongst other unconventional movements. A charming use of a projector to spin the audience’s perspective to view the scene from the back of the stage looking out to the seats was an interesting moment. The staging and scene changes for the piece were a little dizzying, with set changes being done by the actors with at such a pace that you feel the sense of urgency building. Along with this, a mildly Brechtian style of leaving the wings of the stage exposed did not detract from the piece at all for me, though whether the fit or distracted from the more naturalistic performance may not be to everyone’s tastes.
The cast gives a plethora of colour to the show, with some characters leaning heavily into the ‘larger than life’ personalities actors can be linked with ‘actor types’, though at times bordering on caricature. Verity (played by Charlotte Randle) particularly hit home for me as an eerie reminder to my theatre days. The relationship between Lewis (played by Tachia Newall) and Morse had a lovely back and forth, though there were a few times where Lewis felt a little too quick to anger than felt necessary.
There was a lovely touch in expanding more on Morse’s personal life that gave some heartfelt moments through the piece, with a mix of his romantic life and aspirations. This built the pity we feel for such a melancholic detective very well for me. Mixing this with his rather bitter outlook and dry wit felt like a good continuation to the character.
Overall, the piece gave a compelling plot that kept us guessing throughout, during the interval I found myself listening in to other people’s theories and who the murderer was. As with all good crime thrillers, the pieces all fall into place and we leave the theatre with a satisfactory twist to the tale. Whether or not you’re a Morse fan, I’d recommend this show for it’s touching drama and let’s face it, who can say no to a good mystery?