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DOCTOR WHO : HELLBLOSSOM
London, 1888. Bizarre murders in dark backstreets. An alien monster on the loose. A Bounty Hunter on its trail. Fights between local crime figures. The Police are baffled. An exiled Time Lord conducting strange experiments with plants and humans. And the Doctor just dropped in for a cup of tea . . .
Written by Ian Wheeler
Directed by Simon James
The Plant Grows Wild
HELLBLOSSOM tells the story of the Doctor and his travelling companion, Sha'atara, deciding to pop into Victoria England to meet a fellow Time Lord, Professor Gardener. He has been exiled to Earth for his horiffic experiments combing human and plant DNA, and of course, despite being trapped in a "backward" society, he's up to his old tricks and has created a krinoid/human hybrid. This bizarre monster escapes Gardener's clutches and is found by Freak Show Promoter, Jenny McArdle. She takes the Hybrid in (to make some money out of exhibiting the poor creature) but the local crime boss, Mrs Collins exerts pressure on McArdle to use the Hybrid to kill off Collins' rivals. The murders attract the attention of Inspector Potts from Scotland Yard, who visits Professor Gardener to seek his help - at the exact right time to bump into the Doctor, who just can't resist a good mystery.
As they follow the trail of bodies, all roads lead back to Professor Gardener, and the Doctor is forced to face his friend in a dire battle of the mind-bending Rassillon's Gambit . .
Of course, the Doctor triumphs and the Hybrid is killed, then he captures Gardener in a time loop and all ends well. Sha'atara decides to stay on Earth, for she has taken rather a liking to Inspector Potts . . .
Battered Suitcase When we discovered the pioneering stage plays of Ian Wheeler (from Britain's Battered Suitcase Theatre Co.) we knew that HELLBLOSSOM was something that we wanted to do. It was his first Doctor Who original production, and although it is inspired from an idea featured in the Tom Baker episodes of Seeds Of Doom, as well as drawing from references from a number of other episodes, it stands alone as a theatrical production. You may be an avid fan of Doctor Who, you may have never known nor experienced the television series, but as a self-contained adventure/thriller it works very well as an intriguing and rather absorbing theatrical entertainment. That is why ARENA chose this project.
HELLBLOSSOM features a new incarnation of the Doctor. We haven't tried to mimic any of the other actors' Doctor personalities, although it has characteristics of some of them. It is also a production with all new characters and an original plot, but very much in the vein of traditional Who stories. It is designed to not only appeal to fans of the television series, but to general audiences as well - in fact, anyone who enjoys a good production where they can think a little, laugh a little, but always be thoroughly entertained.
Doctor Who, I Presume Doctor Who is a phenomenon of world-wide television. There are few amongst us wo have not grown up with William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davidson, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy (or even seen the telemovie with Paul McGann as the Doctor). We remember the Doctor's assistants, such as Jo, Zoe, Jamie, Harry, Romana, Leela, Turlough, Ace, Adric, and the forever-ankle-twistings of Sarah Jane. We look fondly upon K-9, the know-all robotic dog, the stiff upper lip of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, or the Doctor's vintage car, Bessie.
Who has not hidden behind the furniture when the Daleks or the Cybermen or the Ice Warriors or the Master storms onto the screen. And of course, there's the Doctor's Time Machine, the T.A.R.D.I.S., (Time And Relative Dimensions In Space) bigger on the inside than it is on the outside, able to transform itself into anything to fit into the strange environments we visit, but somehow perpetually stuck in the form of a 1960's London Police Box. There is the haunting, unique sound of the T.A.R.D.I.S. landing, and the unforgettable Dr Who Theme Music. We remember the often dodgy sets and special effects, but we always come back for more, for it is the stories and the delighful personalities of the Doctor that endure.
First broadcast in 1963, this remarkable show has transcended eight Doctors, hundreds and hundreds of episodes, dozens of companions, and no end of weird, wonderful and scary aliens, lots of challenging villians and many strange environments to explore. Even after the series ended in 1989, it lives on through new novels, magazines, fan clubs across the world, a myriad of merchandising and new "radio play" audio adventures released on CD and using some the Doctors and other actors featured in the original shows. And in 2004, the B.B.C. is planning to bring the Doctor back to the small screen in a new set of adventures! Good news for all us Who-ites.
Performed at 8.00pm at The Bridge Theatre
21st -23rd and 28th-30th November, 2002. Tickets $16.50 Full, $13.50 Concession. BOOKINGS 9228 3336.
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