The Seventh Doctor and Ace become immersed in the hedonistic paradise of sex, drugs and alcohol in Ibiza in 1997.
The Seventh Doctor and Ace become immersed in the hedonistic paradise of sex, drugs and alcohol in Ibiza in 1997.
THE RAPTURE
In my previous review of …ish, I expressed my happiness that BF started to take storytelling risks, pushing the boundaries into areas previously unexplored by Doctor Who. Joseph Lidster’s The Rapture is the second example of that trend to be released in two months, taking place as it does in and around the Ibiza club scene. Though it suffers dramatically in places, Lidster uses the setting to help explore human emotion, and he succeeds in this attempt.
The Rapture is often savaged in reviews, and unfortunately the reason why is down to simple prejudice. The plot of the Rapture isn’t nearly the worst we’ve ever seen, the characterization is excellent, and the direction is innovative. It’s not the best release in BF history by a long shot, but it’s no Minuet in Hell, either — but it’s treated as such. Why? Because the plot deals with young people combatting depression. Regardless of how well written such a script is, it will be casually dismissed because older adults don’t like listening to their younger counterparts struggle to achieve stability. The Rapture is certainly not pleasant to listen to at all times, as it puts most of its characters through the emotional wringer, but this characterization is, for the most part, spot-on: Caitriona is the best example of this, Lidster capturing perfectly the manifestation of depression in a young woman.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much of a dramatic backbone to The Rapture. The basic plot, Jude-and-Gabriel-are-angels-no-wait-they’re-actually-aliens, isn’t exactly the most original we’ve ever seen, and the resolution amounts mostly to two groups of people shouting at each other for ten minutes. By the time the Doctor has avoided capture by crawling through a ventilation duct — the author even having the stones to have him comment on it — it’s obvious there isn’t much going on here. Which is a shame, because this play is full of beautiful little character moments — the Doctor being friends with a beach café owner, Gustavo, is strangely appropriate, and Gustavo’s revelation as a villain at the end of episode three serves as one of the best-produced cliffhangers BF has ever done.
Sylvester McCoy’s performance here is mostly strong, though he does lapse into overacting when required to shout. He also shows another problem characteristic of his weaker BF performances: emphasizing the wrong syllables in his lines. I’ve said before that McCoy clearly requires strong direction to turn in a great performance, as here it sounds like he’s just tearing through the script without adequate preparation. However, when he’s on, he’s great, as with the aforementioned episode 3 cliffhanger — his disbelieving cry of “Gustavo!” is note-perfect.
Unfortunately, this play also features Sophie Aldred as Ace. This is yet another horrible performance from Aldred, whose attempts to sound like a young person fitting in in episode 1 are cringeworthy. The character seems to be written well — in light of the recent events of Colditz, the revelation that she has a long-lost brother would naturally be disturbing — but Aldred spends the entire play whipped into a frenzy of hysteria, shouting all her lines and generally sounding embarrassing. However, by the end of the play, the stupid “McShane” nonsense seems to have ended, as everyone’s calling her Dorothy — hopefully by The Harvest she’ll have matured enough to actually use her real name, because hearing McShane is just jarring on the ears, especially when all the liner notes and cast lists call her Ace anyway.
The supporting cast is solid all around. Matthew Brenher and Neil Henry play off each other very well as Jude and Gabriel — the relationship is captured expertly by the two. David John is good as Liam, as unlike Aldred he sounds somewhat realistic in his discovery of a long-lost sister. It’s nice to hear someone with an actual Spanish accent playing Gustavo, and Carlos Riera acts the part well. Anne Bird is excellent as Caitriona — the performance might be annoying, but it’s certainly accurate. And I’ve never heard of Tony Blackburn, but I’m going to assume he played himself well.
Though I praise Gary Russell’s direction in almost all of his productions, special mention must be made here of Jason Haigh-Ellery’s first effort for the Doctor Who range. This is far and away the most innovatively-directed play of Big Finish’s first thirty-six, as the distribution of scenes follows the same pattern one might see on a club mix. Much of this is also down to the sound design, as Jim Mortimore and Jane Elphinstone (along with Simon Robinson and Feel) convincingly (at least to someone like me who’s never been there) recreate Ibiza and provide an excellent score. The remix of the main theme is a particular delight, as is the manner of its introduction at the opening of the play. And Clayton Hickman’s cover design is absolutely stunning.
The Rapture has its flaws, no doubt. Between some questionable acting from the regulars and a shaky plot, there are certainly complaints that can be made. However, Lidster’s characterization and a stellar production raise the play to at least an average level — and The Rapture is worth hearing just to experience a new variety of Doctor Who.
Not to everyone’s taste, but recommended all the same.
5/10