Colin Dexter, the man behind celebrated fictional detective Inspector Morse, is to share his stories in one-man-show, Morse & Me at the Harrogate Theatre.
When writer Colin Dexter brought the idea of the gentleman detective into the modern day (well, 1970s) by pairing him with a younger working-class assistant, a crime fiction hero was born. Inspector Morse, who first made his appearance in 1975 novel Last Bus To Woodstock, and who was so beautifully portrayed on the small screen by the late John Thaw, became the star of 13 novels, 33 episodes of a TV serial of the same name and four radio plays, as well as a byword for quality detective stories.
A huge fan of cryptic crosswords and sometime setter of them, Dexter named his literary creation for champion setter Jeremy Morse and made the grouchy but cultured police inspector a keen cruciverbalist (that’s puzzle-lover to most folk). When Inspector Morse drew his last TV breath in 2000, after 13 years on our screens, millions of viewers were bereft – testament to Dexter’s character writing skills (and Thaw’s interpretation). Since then, Inspector Morse has spawned two spin-off series: Lewis, focusing on Morse’s long-suffering sidekick, and Endeavour, a prequel journeying back to Morse’s youth.
Morse made millions of viewers and readers happy and made Colin Dexter a household name – and familiar face as, Alfred Hitchcock-like, he made cameo appearances in nearly every Inspector Morse episode. Now in Morse & Me, Dexter tells the behind-the-scenes tales of working on the TV series and books that made this one-time Classics teacher famous. Dexter appears at Harrogate Theatre on Thursday 31 January – it would be criminal to miss him.
Tickets for this event can be booked securely online at www.harrogatetheatre.co.uk or through the Harrogate Theatre Box Office on 01423 502116.
