For the first time ever, an episode of Doctor Who was played to an audience with live orchestral accompaniment, and the biggest question is why it has taken so long for such a good idea to be realised.

One can almost imagine show runner Steven Moffat ticking off items on his Doctor Who bucket list before handing over the reins to the incoming Chris Chibnall: Mondasian Cybermen? Check. Multi-Master story? Check. Live performance of score to episode? Oh, I’d best sort that out!

And what a great call it was, whoever made it, as Doctor Who’s house band, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales (NOW), delivered a homecoming gig to an appreciative audience of 350. Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff’s Millennium Centre has been where NOW have recorded most of the orchestral scores since Series 4, so it’s appropriate to be the location of this significant event.

This isn’t the first time that Murray Gold’s Doctor Who music has been performed live – we’ve had multiple Proms and the Monsters are Coming! tour. It’s not even the first time that Doctor 12’s music has been in a concert, having made its debut in the Symphonic Spectacular tour, but this is the first time that a single score has been projected live to an entire episode. This in itself presents its own challenges, with typically shorter cues, and having to compete with dialogue and effects/background soundtrack. Not that NOW, under the baton of Alistair King, gave any indication that this was anything but business as usual.

The challenge with live to film concerts is that the sound can’t be as easily mixed – too loud and it drowns the dialogue, too quiet and… what’s the point? For the competition winners, fans, cast, crew and members of the press lucky enough to be in the auditorium for this unique event, the dilemma was whether to focus on the twists of the first instalment of Steven Moffat’s two-part series finale, or kick back and listen to the music. Inevitably, it would be a compromise. Decisions, decisions.

I won’t review the episode – you can find our spoiler-free review here – instead I’ll focus on the performance. I will however assume you’ve seen the episode, so if you haven’t yet caught up with all the twists and turns, best turn away now.

The most obvious thing you notice is just how effectively the music is used during an episode. It’s not just about the big themes – the NOW use beats to underscore and set the scene, to highlight and amplify the drama. Saying that, a pre-credits regeneration commands an urgent intro before slipping into Murray Gold’s latest version of Ron Grainer’s theme. Another big theme is used to establish the ship on the edge of the black hole and then it’s a case of occasional flourishes to introduce characters or new jeopardy. Gold’s beautiful This is Gallifrey gets a beautiful refrain as the Doctor reminisces his youth, and naturally the Twelfth Doctor Theme A Good Man? makes a welcome appearance.

Another difference between regular concerts and played live to film is that you might go five minutes with nothing, get a flourish for a few seconds and then silence again. It can be frustrating, because you want to hear the whole piece or movement, but in this sort of performance the music exists to serve the programme, not to showcase the composer. Regardless, I particularly enjoyed picking up the Master’s swirling Sound of Drums theme long before Mr Razor’s true identity.

Also of note is how much of the soundtrack is the sound design, already laid down in advance, with the orchestra complementing it. My one regret? Murray Gold’s 6-note Cybermen theme doesn’t get used, quite simply because the Cybermen aren’t quite Cybermen at this stage. The ‘Next Time’ throw forward suggests there will be plenty of Cyber action – and presumably Cyber music-  in the finale.

However, once the orchestra played out the closing titles there was even more to look forward to. The performance was followed by an on-stage interview with Pearl Mackie (Bill Potts) and Steven Moffat by Cardiff’s regular Doctor Who supporter, Jason Mohammad. You can watch a recording of it on the Doctor Who YouTube channel and Facebook page, suffice to say that Pearl was endearing and Steven very funny. Pearl was particularly delighted to have her own theme, which was then played in full by NOW, as was the concert version of A Good Man? and a suite from Heaven Sent. Oh, and two Mondasian Cybermen and two regular Cybermen also marched on stage to terrify the audience.

Original Cyberman designer Alexandra Tynan was in the audience, and singled out for her designs of the Mondasians. I asked her what she made of their return and she said she was thrilled to see them in colour and on the big screen. Episode director Rachel Talalay was also called-out by Moffat for her wonderful work on this and preceding two season finales.

Verdict: A unique, intimate gig that added another dimension to the aural soundscape of Doctor Who and showcasing Murray Gold’s stellar work on the show. I’ve decided that I want all episodes of Doctor Who accompanied by live orchestra. 10/10

Nick Joy