It’s Christmas Eve and Queen Victoria’s new Prime Minister is invited to an old tradition. He is not alone.

The Queen Victoria strand of Torchwood has yet to disappoint and this is another waltz through the grey areas, and dark heart, of the Empire. Jonathan Barnes’ script draws from MR James and John le Carré in roughly equal proportion as we hear three stories, all odd, all terrifying and all connected to a particular location and to the Empire Man.

There’s a lovely sense of the festive dread to all this and the cast are on top form. Richard David-Caine’s Prime Minister is the sort of focused, ruthless ambition avatar that stalks Whitehall to this day and his combination of glee and confusion at his semi-private audience with the Monarch is the surprising heart of the story. Hugh Fraser’s Castringham is his shadow; calm where he’s arrogant, focused where he’s scattered. Twice as dangerous and half as loud. Barnes’ script trusts you completely, even as the characters do nothing of the sort and plots move through the background of the story like the ghosts at Scrooge’s window. Patience Tomlinson’s Mrs Wickmere is especially good and there’s a real sense of her story being separate to, yet impactful on, this one.

Lisa Bowerman’s direction is never less than impressive and here she gets a perfect sense not just of tone but of shift from her performers. Rowena Cooper’s Queen Victoria is as majestic ever and the ending here is another moment that shows her and Bowerman at the height of their powers. The Queen is all too aware of the human cost of what they do and of the Empire and she has others pay that gladly. The Empire Man, and his host’s weaponization is just another move in The Great Game. Queen Victoria’s glee at the end of the story is one part job well done, one part satisfaction and one part defiance. She’s still here. The Empire endures and so does it’s Monarch, even if a little bit of her soul is cut away to keep the peace. Her peace, of course.

Verdict: Rounded out by some lovely, kinetic sound design by Toby Hrycek-Robinson this is a festive chiller with bared teeth and a light step. Wonderful stuff, top to bottom. 9/10

Alasdair Stuart

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