Tyler Steele (Jonny Green) has done it all, seen it all and slept with a lot of it. But the morning he wakes up next to himself is the morning that everything changes.

A meeting of ranges, as one of the regulars from the excellent Torchwood continuation sets steps across to single part stories. Our regular postcards from Mr Colchester are always welcome, but Tyler’s journey down his own timeline is right there as one of the strongest entries to date in a ludicrously strong line of stories. A massive part of that is Joseph Lidster’s script, which takes five or six big issues (depression, estrangement, addiction, assault, bigotry, guilt and grief), sets them all up and talks to each of them.

Tyler is Torchwood’s Face, always charming, endlessly plausible, never slowing down and running from himself as fast as he possibly can. Lidster deals with all of them in the way that Tyler refuses to, sitting down with the brilliant, damaged man who has fallen sideways and on fire into Torchwood’s world and asking politely why he hasn’t put himself out yet. The conceit of having two Tylers is obvious, but Lidster uses it with subtlety, humour and compassion as we see Tyler slowly realise that he really is talking to the one person who understands. Not just what’s going on, but himself.

This is the sort of story that Torchwood has always excelled at. ‘Mundane’ is a pejorative and ‘kitchen sink’ is pretty classist these days but the true genre sits somewhere between the two of them. When Torchwood does this well, it uses the genre of science fiction as a lens to dissect and explore character. The show did this a bunch of times, most notably in early years with ‘Captain Jack Harkness’. The audio range has done this a lot, and if you like this kind of story (and I really do), I’d recommend ‘We Always Get Out Alive’ and ‘Made You Look’, both by Guy Adams. This story uses a similar tool set, laying Tyler’s life out in front of him and trusting him to explore it, and why he’s made the choices he has. Crucially, it’s not judgmental or patronising.

Jonny Green plays the other Tyler with the corners knocked off a little. Not older and sadder, but more mature and calm. A young man able to look back down his life at the trauma that shaped him and realise it didn’t define him. It’s difficult ground to cover, and if you have any triggers surrounding neglect, assault or abuse then I’d recommend treating yourself kindly with this one, but Lidster does it with the grace, calm, humour and kindness Tyler can’t let himself see he has.

Green is extraordinarily good in both roles, and the logistics of the story as explained in the behind-the-scenes section are fascinating. Both director Scott Handcock and fellow cast member Gwion Morris Jones read the ‘other’ Tyler to keep the rhythm of the story and Green then recorded what amounts to the same story twice. It’s demanding work but every ounce of effort is audible and the entire cast turn in great work. This is Green’s show, but Rebecca Crankshaw, Gwion Morris Jones and Simon Kane are excellent in vital supporting roles. Special praise too to the always amazing Maddy Searle, whose audio production on this shifts us through location, time and space with subtlety and wit.

Verdict: Emotionally driven, complex and sincere this is an absolute gem of a story that deals with big issues with compassion, humour and hope. Brilliantly done. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart

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