The Doctor digs for truth…

‘A Theatre of Cruelty’ opens the set on a vastly strong note. Lisa McMullin is one of the best writers on the Big Finish roster and Alexander Vlahos is typically brilliant as Antonin Artaud, the story’s central character. Artaud is one of the pillars of modern dramatic theory, an actor who pioneered the concept of a ‘Theatre of Cruelty’, which moved away from the written word and realism and embraced physicality. This is a quote: “a new theatrical language of totem and gesture – a language of space devoid of dialogue that would appeal to all the senses.”

McMullin’s joyous chutzpah in exploring a man like this through a near totally dialogue driven medium sets the tone for what’s essentially a historical theatrical swashbuckler. Vlahos’ Artaud is haunted by dreams of Beatrice Cenci, a Roman noblewoman executed for killing her abusive father. Played here by Elisabeth Yorke-Bolognini she’s both a fascinating and tragic historical figure and a door through which the story finds its true self. This is a thematic twin to ‘Vincent and the Doctor’ and the story’s central concern is an examination of Artaud’s brilliance and the price he paid for that brilliance. It touches on issues of mental health, community and the horrors of being a creative and it does all of this with a deep kindness. That, more than the righteous fury or the exuberance, is what I always associate with Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor, a tragically hard won compassion that underpins everything he does. You see it in abundance here and Eccleston and Vlahos’s energy is a real pleasure to listen to.

Mark Wright’s The Running Men brings the Doctor to 21st century Halifax and is colossal fun from the get go. Eccleston’s Ninth Doctor is on top form throughout but Wright’s script gives him a mystery, a clever science fiction conceit, a bucket of local history and four great supporting cast members to play with. The mystery is just why Annalise Avenley (Pooky Quesnel), local developer, is interested in a particular part of the town’s history and why she and her memorably nasty henchperson Grayson (Delroy Atkinson) are prepared to murder for it. The SF conceit is a clever use of time that mirrors the Ninth’s thematic struggle with the consequences of his actions and survivor’s guilt and it’s explored here with tenderness and compassion. There is a bad guy for sure but you know why they’re the villain slightly before they do. The local history is a stampede of Halifax lore from the very real local legend of the Running Men to the streets in the sky. The supporting cast are the lens through which this is explored, with Quesnel’s gloriously plausible developer opposed by panicky local historian Frank Kelsey (Simon Rouse) and stoic local cop Sergeant Ambika Desai (Fiona Wade). These two are the de facto companions for the story and they’re excellent, feeling like people in their own right swept up by events rather than mouthpieces. Both are tested by events too, and the story is ultimately as much about the power of individuality and community versus history and feral capitalism as it is the elegant time travel conceit at its core.

Matt Fitton’s ‘Ancient History’ closes the set out in a similar way but a wildly different location. Professor Bernice Summerfield is part of a research project into the Korravin, a warrior race the equals of the Daleks and the Cybermen who blissfully and mysteriously vanished. But Benny isn’t leading the charge this time. Media darling Doctor Cantiple (Rosalyn Landor) is the face of the expedition and Finnda Twisk (Eliza Shea) is Benny’s intern. George (Gary Joran) is the expedition AI and Professor Arthur Fandango is definitely in every way, not the Doctor.

The genius of all three scripts is that they take what you think will happen and give it to you in a very different way. Here. Nine’s survivor’s guilt is mirrored by Bernice’s burnout. Lisa Bowerman is an epochal talent, always balancing this fundamentally friendly, reassuring presence with tremendous dramatic weight and here she clearly relishes getting to play both sides of that with Eccleston’s tortured Time Lord. Bernice is one of the best in her field and is also, with some justification, feeling distinctly left behind. The reasons for that wrap around her sense of abandonment by the Doctor, the Doctor’s own caution at going ‘public’ and the Korravin mystery in a way that’s sincere, honest and often very poignant. You always bring something to art and as a creative in four different fields, all of which seem to be on various stages of fire, I related to Benny really strongly here. Especially the clear joy we hear when she realizes who Professor Fandango is and they get to have a couple of very in-depth conversations. Bowerman and Eccleston are a great double act and I hope we get to hear them again. The level of clear respect and affection the universe’s most disreputable action academics have for one another is way too much fun to never return to.

Again there’s a really strong supporting cast here, and again, the story bends over backwards to show you that a villain is often just a villain from a particular angle. Landor’s Cantiple is great, an intensely competent cutting edge scientist whose arrogance is antagonistic but not evil. Her scenes with the Korravin really sing and also show us just how terrifying this new race of adversaries are, even as they’re neatly put of use. It’s a tough line to walk but it’s walked very well here. Top marks too to Shea’s wonderful Twisk, whose plucky, panicky determination again sparks beautifully with Benny’s cheerful hyper competency. Also Joran’s George is adorable in a way that’s both relatable and convincingly alien. Benny as a character has a long history of fun supporting characters and these two deserve to join the pantheon. Special note should be made too of Angus Dunnican and Nabil Elouahabi’s superb work as two of the monsters of the piece, both finding wildly different ways to be deeply threatening.

Verdict: This is a joyous set of stories that embraces the complexity of this incarnation and explores multiple facets of his life with humour, intelligence and grace. It’s rounded out by a fantastic set of interviews that show the production of these stories was as much fun as hearing them. Wildly diverse, uniformly excellent work. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart

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