Daniel Mansfield reviews the new adaptation of Goth Opera, one of Doctor Who‘s most famous novels

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Between 2012 and 2016, Big Finish released full-cast audio drama adaptations of the beloved Virgin New Adventures and Virgin Missing Adventures, two series of books that kept Doctor Who alive when it was taken off air in 1989. And now, for one night only, the Novel Adaptations range returns to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Virgin Missing Adventures.

Big Finish couldn’t have chosen a better novel to adapt. Goth Opera by Paul Cornell is one of the most iconic of the Missing Adventures, not just because of the controversial cover depicting Nyssa as a bloodstained vampire, but because it’s a properly good story.

Right from the evocative opening narration by Richard Armitage‘s Rassilon, this release feels different, brimming with a weight and gravitas that persists right until the closing seconds. After the opening credits, we’re thrust headlong into a full-on Gothic horror story the likes of which Doctor Who has never done before – seriously, this is darker and grittier than even the Hinchcliffe era’s scariest stories.

Peter Davison and Janet Fielding rise to the occasion as the Doctor and Tegan, who are forced to face some quite horrifying situations here, and who, thanks to some fantastic performance, we fully believe are in danger. Meanwhile, Sarah Sutton is both terrifying and arresting as a vampiric Nyssa, giving her best performance since her turn in the War Master series a few years ago (review here).

Similarly effective are Natalie Gumede as villainous Time Lord Ruath, who has an intriguing history with the Doctor, and Micah Balfour as Vampire messiah Yarven, who is a sinister background presence throughout before taking centre stage in the final of this story’s three parts. In fact, the entire supporting cast are on point here, even if some of the more minor characters blend into the background somewhat.

Taking us from Manchester and Tasmania to other planets and beyond, Goth Opera is a story with a huge scope, but it never becomes confusing thanks to Lizbeth Myles‘ excellent script. Adapting a novel into audio is no mean feat, but Myles absolutely succeeds at the task, avoiding any clunky ‘say what you see’ dialogue and making sure things are cohesive and coherent throughout despite the change of medium.

Assisting with this is Tim Steemson‘s music, and Simon Robinson‘s sound design. The former does a great job at scoring the tense, dramatic script, while the latter ensures that even the most complex of action sequences comes across to the listener.

One of the best releases of 2024 so far, Goth Opera marries horror with humanity in a Doctor Who story like no other. If you’re a Fifth Doctor fan, a horror fan or honestly just a Who fan in general, I urge you to pick this up.

(Maybe then Big Finish will give us more Novel Adaptations)

Goth Opera is available on CD or as a download from http://www.bigfinish.com