This one is definitely unique! But is that good or bad?

Polly Wright wakes up on a stage floating in an empty void. With her is a strange man she doesn’t recognize. She soon realizes this stage is part of a bigger adventure. And when she and the stranger recount their adventure, the stage brings it to life….

 

I love the initial framing for this one. Polly and the strange man (commonly referred to as “the Player”) spend the entire story on this central stage. Performing for an empty void. As the story goes along, different sets and effects take shape around them. It gives the story a unique environment.

The goal here, as explained in the behind-the-scenes stuff, is to present it all as a form of Elizabethan theatre. Which is a good idea! As I’m not too familiar with the artform, I can’t give you too detailed an explanation of how well it succeeds.

From what I can gather, some basic characteristics from Elizabethan theatre are open stages, little actual décor and lots of costuming. There’s also the “no girls allowed” rule, but let’s skip past that for now.

The problem with these traits is that they’re all quite visual. How is a purely auditory medium going to present it accurately?

The result is mixed. Costuming is not represented at all, while the decor is represented by being mentioned a lot. Multiple references are made to the stage looking crummy or cheap. Which does make it clear that there is in fact a set, but doesn’t add much else.

At a certain point, the story does away with sets entirely by introducing the idea of “belief in the story”. The more Polly believes something exists, the more realistic the staging will be. I’m sort of split on that decision. I would’ve liked it if it had stayed an actual, full stageplay. But at the same time, I have to admit it does add some stakes to a presentation that is already fighting an uphill battle within its medium.

There is, however, also one characteristic that comes across very clearly, which is the openness of the stage. The lack of music and slight echo really makes it feel like we’re on a bunch of planks, floating in a void. There’s an odd sense of pressure to it all, even if there’s nothing there. Every time there’s a pause between sentences, you can almost feel that void creeping in.

 

But aside from presentation, this story also has a lot to offer in its narrative. Especially its ending might turn out to be a bit controversial. Let’s look at it in a bit more detail.

At the end of the story, something becomes clear about the Player. He’s not just some random bloke with a theatre of the mind. He is a time lord. A time lord from the time war. He’s there, because the daleks are trying to invade the Doctor’s timeline and stop him early on.

The Doctor was supposed to be at the North Pole after the events of “The Smugglers”. However, all the outside interference has expanded his lease on life. Letting him explore the universe a little longer, even though is body is long worn out. This time however, time is truly up. The ending is in sight. One last choice remains: Will the Doctor give up, or keep struggling?

Now, you probably feel one of 2 ways about this plot decision. Either you love the connecting lore, or you think it is fanwanky and unnecessary. I’ll leave that part up to you. What I do take issue with, however, is the element of choice in the Doctor’s fate.

At the end of the story, The Doctor is given the choice to face his inevitable change or keep struggling and hanging on. The more I think about this, the less I like it. This is because it presents both options as equal. As the Doctor having a hand in what is awaiting him.

And in that sense it kind of clashes with the other stories in this half-season. Every other story presents the Doctor as hanging on to fleeting times. Trying to be something he can’t physically be anymore. It is a showing of desperation, rather than choice. And, to look ahead a little bit, it is the same attitude the next and final story for this Doctor will have.

Don’t get me wrong though. I am not against new ideas. And I don’t think every story has to perfectly match the previous ones. But I think adding a choice kind of sours the inevitability of fate that the end of this doctor centers around. Both the actor and the character want to keep going, but they can’t. There’s a sad beauty in that, which I prefer.

Overall, I admire the “The Plague of Dreams” for its ambition. It is not afraid to try something entirely out of the box, even if that results in some debatable choices. It is not perfect, but it tries on every level. Which makes this truly a story to form you own opinion on. Have a listen and see where you land!