- Doctor Whom and The Corset of Doom -Review by The Cheshire Cat and his Missus

On Saturday January 16^th, my wife and I had the opportunity to check out the improv comedy adventure “Doctor Whom” at the Bad Dog Theatre.  Starring Anand Rajaram as everyone's favorite Time Lord, we were treated to an original episode of unique monsters, old friends and foes, and a sonic toothbrush capable of polishing shoes, tuning harps, and creating an awfully large foamy mess in the river Thames.  Seriously ... what can't toothpaste do?

The Doctor and his companion Violet (Ashley Botting) take their cues from the audience (the audience eagerly performs as the now voice activated and interactive TARDIS), and land in Victorian-era London.  This week’s adventure leads them to run into a time-displaced Shakespeare (Tom MacKay), along with a right pissed-off Captain Jack Harkness (Rob Norman, playing the role with diligent comedic perversion) and the classic Anthony Ainley incarnation of The Master (Sean Taberes).

The Doctor and Violet are called to the scene at Lady Garrison’s (Lindsay Grant) manor, and find her maid Elizabeth (Alice Moran) dead on the floor with a mouth full or larvae, a dill pickle in her ear, and her body internally strung with copper wire.  They soon discover that the source of the “pickling” is from an invisible and terribly odiferous Brine Monster (Pete Hill).  Off runs The Doctor, with his entourage in tow, to find the source of the pickling, how to defeat the monster, and who is at the root of the pickle brigade!

We soon discover that it is none other than The Master behind this evil ploy.  He is at it yet again, itching to pervert and destroy the human race.  The plan this go-round is to pickle the brains of Shakespeare and young Lady Garrison, and all the maids of London using his slinking and slithering Brine Monster.  With the pickled brains, he plans to amass all knowledge contained within, and not only change the whole of human history, but do some pretty nasty blackmailing in the process. We all know that the house staff heard all the juicy gossip of the upper class.  In addition to sending out his usual henchmen to do his dirty work, The Master has also taken up hand-to-hand combat in the form of “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots” as an additional defense. 

In the end, The Doctor and Violet defeat The Master’s plan, while each member of the entourage all played a role in the success.  Unfortunately, after consuming some acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin), given to him by Violet, The Doctor reveals a fatal allergy to it, and unexpectedly regenerates … Into a ginger-haired woman!

This high-speed improv episode contained a flurry of excellent Whovian quips and references for the fans (Shakespeare sees The Doctor and remarks how he is his muse and how he adored the adventure they previously had.  The Doctor politely, but firmly tells Shakespeare to never speak of that incident again, especially in this episode.), and just as many hilarious one-off comments that left the whole audience in stitches.  The adult crowd allowed the actors to be quite free with language and content.  This included Capt. Jack sending out a carrier pigeon to solicit a “booty call”, as well as his deft and avid lovemaking session to a harp packed down his trousers.

One highlight of the show that stood out for me was the performance by Tom MacKay (Shakespeare).  No matter the proverbial 'slings and arrows' thrown his way, he appeared to be comfortable not only with the speed and level of improv that this show operates at, but also equally comfortable with each cast mate on stage.  Tom shared the stage well with each performer he was in a scene with, and smoothly facilitated the movement of the scene with his quick comedic timing.  However, the full cast is not overshadowed at all, and played well off each other’s contributions, as each member was quick to react, respond, and carry though each nuance of the story as it progressed. 

As this is the second of only four performances of  “Doctor Whom”, I'm seriously considering catching the  final two shows on Saturday January 23^rd and January 30^th.  Not only to follow up and see how The Doctor enjoys his new feminine, ginger regeneration, but also to take in another slightly askew but superbly funny adventure in the Whoniverse.