Big Finish Productions The Companion Chronicles Ringpullworld

Written by	Paul Magrs
Format	Compact Disc
Released	2009

Starring Mark Strickson

Synopsis: The Doctor and his crew uncover a pocket universe inside a small tin can.

• A Review by Leslie McMurtry

A Review by Leslie McMurtry 15/10/12

I'm becoming a big fan of the Companion Chronicles. In a way, they're like Doctor Who full-cast plays-lite, but in that way they become a challenge for the writers and the actors to entertain and divert within the limits of the genre. The Glorious Revolution did that extremely well, thanks in part to Frazer Hines' performance(s). Transit of Venus was beautifully written and, again, as a pure historical, it surmounted the limitations of the brief quite well.

Ringpullworld by Paul Magrs was likewise extremely clever in its conceit and possibly the most sophisticated of the range to date. It was very Magrs-like, as you can guess from the title: unconventional, a bit bonkers and surprisingly well-suited to a Turlough play. Both writer and director (Neil Roberts) zeroed in on the heart of the conflict - Turlough's feelings on incarceration and the play's overall dilemma in regards to freedom - which is, rather bafflingly and charmingly, centered around a universe in a tin of beans.

Magrs brings out hidden depths in Turlough and makes him funny and sympathetic, with Mark Strickson's help, of course. Alex Lowe is also wonderful as Huxley. I won't give away his role but I will say it makes for a wonderfully meta-fictional tale. Strickson's Davison is quite good but his Tegan is pretty hammy.