Theatre of War

Big Finish Productions Theatre of War

Adapted by	Justin Richards
Format	Compact Disc
Released	2016

Starring Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Lisa Bowerman

Synopsis: There's something wrong with an archaeological dig that Benny wants to investigate. It has something to do with the play The Good Soldiers, which no longer exists but was undoubtedly a classic.

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Adapted from the New Adventure story of the same name by its original author Justin Richards, Theatre of War is a pretty good story.

Investigating the ruins of a theatre on a dead alien planet a group of archeologists run into the seventh Doctor, Benny and Ace - while Benny visits the Braxiatel Collection to check out some records, the Doctor and Ace discover that the theatre holds a machine that can make plays come to life, which holds a copy of a famous missing play called The Good Soldiers.

The regulars are all pretty good as expected, the all got to do something to move the plot along, I especially like the part where the Doctor browbeat/manipulated the Exec (Bryan Dick) into not carrying out an execution. The supporting cast are all right, no weak links there. Miles Richardson as Braxiatel is great; the story shows his first proper meeting with Benny, and Kirsty Besterman as Lannic stands out to me as rather good with an excellent character arc and performance. The play scenes were fun as well, especially with Ace commenting on them.

I was not familiar with the original book, so I enjoyed the chance to experience it for the first time. The interviews at the end reveal some of the changes from the book version the author made. Justin Richards is one of what I would call the reliable class of Doctor Who writers, in that his stories are always readable, solid, maybe not the best but never bad, and this story is no exception being a rather solid adventure, with Benny getting the chance to use her archeologist skills, Ace messing about with explosives and the Doctor investigating the mystery. I was slightly ahead of the cast guessing the secret of the theatre a while before Benny and the Doctor clock on (a open-topped theatre with bad acoustics on a very rainy planet plus Brax having a machine very similar to one found in the ruins). The scene where they have to explain the plot to Ace is a bit painful, however, as it makes her look tremendously thick (Ace might not be as smart as Benny or the Doctor, but she isn't stupid). Also Ace is characterized as very similar to her TV counterpart, whereas the older mercenary Ace of the New Adventures Ace is completely missing. Why adapt the novels if you jettison the character? They've already done Love and War, the one where she leaves the Doctor, but they haven't adapted the later one where she returns. Other than that, there isn't anything to complain about.

You should listen to this, if you like Braxiatel and want to see how he met Bernice, want to see the Doctor the arch manipulator and mastermind outmaneuvered and outsmarted, some fun Ace and Benny scenes and/or are a fan of the New Adventures.

All in all a fun good romp. 9/10