The Psychic Circus is a Doctor Who audio play released by Big Finish Productions written by Stephen Wyatt and directed by Samuel Clemens. Sylvester McCoy returns to his role of the Seventh Doctor. The guest cast includes James Dreyfus, Ian Reddington, Chris Jury, and Anna Leong Brophy.
Now this is a fairly special episode for the fans. It serves as simultaneous prequel and sequel to the television serial entitled the The Greatest Show in the Galaxy. The Doctor returns to the Psychic Circus as it was starting but another evil and familiar influence hovers over it that is forcing him to face his past. The author of this audio play also introduced the television viewers to this troubled circus as well as Paradise Towers. Although the Doctor knows the future of the Psychic Circus, he is rather surprised to find that he was present in the past as well. Back when the Chief Clown achieved his ambitions which twisted him into something considerably darker. This was where we get to meet Kingpin before he was Deadbeat.
This is a little bit of a confusing tale at times, however it’s still a pretty good time. McCoy puts in his usual engaging energy into the performance. Some of the cast members of the television serial reprise their roles. Wyatt does quite well keeping the continuity intact. The episode hits the right chords of nostalgia for those of us quite familiar with the earlier story. It plays with the pitfalls of time travel for the Doctor. The verbal sparring between McCoy and Dreyfus is also worth the price of admission.
It’s a solid adventure with a few aural delights for the long-time fans familiar with the television stories that intersect.
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