The Haunting of Thomas Brewster (Jonathan Morris)

 April 2008’s release is called "The Haunting of Thomas Brewster". It is written by Jonathan Morris, directed by Barnaby Edwards and was recorded on the 13th and 14th December 2007. It has been described as a very creepy Fifth Doctor and Nyssa story.

 This is Jonathan Morris's third Docor Who Audio story for Big Finish Productions. His previous being "Bloodtide", that introduced the Silurians into the world of audio, and the original story "Flip-Flop" - where this double CD release could be listened to in either order.

 As the title suggests, this release, "The Haunting of Thomas Brewster", is a ghost story set in Dickensian London. Guest stars are John Pickard (Hollyoaks) as the titular Brewster, Christian Coulson (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) as the Fifth Doctor's new companion Robert Mclntosh and Leslie Ash (Men Behaving Badly). Also starring are: Barry McCarthy, Sid Mitchell and Trevor Cooper.

Fifth Doctor

This is the first audio drama to feature Christian Coulson as the new companion Robert McIntosh. Coulson previously appeared as Pelleas in "The Bride of Peladon", who by coincidence ended the story by marrying the Fifth Doctor's companion Erimem.

'A whole new phase of adventures begins for the Fifth Doctor in Brewster,' hints new line producer David Richardson, 'so there’s quite a buzz about this one here.'

Narrow, smoggy streets, the Thames at night, churchyards in winter, and an 'artful dodger'... These are the stimulating starting points that writer Jonathan Morris used for this his latest audio adventure.

‘I wanted to attempt a Victorian ghost story’, Jonathan Morris has revealed, ‘like Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, or Charles Dickens' The Signal-Man. I'm very competitive, and my impetus was to come up with something even scarier than Rob Shearman's "The Chimes of Midnight" or Joseph Lidster's "Master".’

Nyssa

Although he has written for the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Doctors, this is Jonathan Morris' first Fifth Doctor script. ‘Writing this was just joy. Peter Davison has always been a bit of a hero of mine, not just for Doctor Who, but for everything else he's been in, like A Very Peculiar Practice (1986-88). His Doctor has a sort of gentle mocking quality, as though he's travelling through time and space trying desperately to take it all seriously - and after "Time Crash", it's interesting to write for the Fifth Doctor as Peter would play the part now.’

On the Back Cover:

Thomas Brewster is haunted by the ghost of his drowned mother. But she is not the only apparition to disturb his dreams. Every few years, he is visited by a mysterious blue box...

Helped by his new assistant, the young Scots scientist Robert McIntosh, The Doctor struggles to unravel the twisted knot of temporal implausibilities which bind the TARDIS to Thomas Brewster. Meanwhile, lost in the stews of Victorian London, Nyssa must face a host of spectral creatures gathering in the fog.

There’s something about Victorian London which is so… Doctor Who, It’s a time of overgrown churchyards and creaking floorboards, of rat-infested sewers and oak-panelled corridors. A time of looking glasses and grandfather clocks and gas lamps. A time of Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle. It’s a time for ghost stories.

And, like all ghost stories, The Haunting Of Thomas Brewster is best enjoyed at night. To get the full effect, you should be listening, alone, in a dark, candle-lit room. This isn’t an adventure for the tube journey to work or to have on in the background while you are doing the washing-up. Unless of course, you’re the sort of person whp does the washing-up alone, in a dark, candle-lit room.

With this play, I have done everything I can to frighten you, and the actors, the director and sound designers have done everything they can too.

So, please… have nightmares.


Director’s Notes: Barnaby Edwards

This is the second script by Jonny Morris which it has been my great pleasure to direct – and it’s an absolute cracker! I love the Dickensian setting with its murky London streets shrouded with fog and peopled with characters straight out of Great Expectations and Hard Times.

But the real skill here is in Jonny’s ability to take these literary elements and stock figures, and to make them serve his own vision. The London of this story is not Oliver Twist’s but Thomas Brewster’s: we see it through his eyes and we hear about it from his lips.

This is a good old-fashioned Victorian ghost story, so pull up a footstool, rest your head against an antimacassar and toast a crumpet before the glowing embers in the grate. Sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin…