Mask of Tragedy (audio story)

Athens, 421 BC. An ancient civilisation of philosophers and poets and the birthplace of theatre. The Doctor has decided to show Ace and Hector how it all began, with help from the great comedian Aristophanes.

But life in Athens is no laughing matter. There's the ever-present threat of invasion from the Spartan horde. The plague that turns people into the walking dead. The slavery. The tyrannical rule of the paranoid, malicious Cleon and his network of informers. And the giant flying beetle with knives for wings that stalks the city streets at night.

What Athens needs is a hero. And who better to be a hero in ancient Greece than a man called Hector?

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Part one[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Part two[[edit] | [edit source]]

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Part three[[edit] | [edit source]]

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Part four[[edit] | [edit source]]

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Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor - Sylvester McCoy
Ace - Sophie Aldred
Hector Thomas - Philip Olivier
Aristophanes - Samuel West
Cleon - Alisdair Simpson
Tyrgius / Slave Trader / Boy - Russell Bentley
Telephus / Cisyphus / Old Man - Tim Treloar
Adonia / Lysistrata - Emily Tucker

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Ace refers to Hollyoaks.
Ace describes the Time Lords as "the men in high collars".
The Doctor wears a toga. However, he still carries his umbrella.
Aristophanes is aware of the existence of time travel.
Athens has been at war with Sparta for many years.
Tyrgius mistakes Aristophanes for Euripides.
The Doctor previously visited Athens in the company of Melanie Bush, who corrected Euclid's geometry, much to his annoyance.
Ace refers to herself as "Germaine Greer".
The Doctor refers to Wham! and One Direction.
He says he's never seen a horror movie because he's never had the time.
Aristophanes and Cleon knew each other when they were children.
Tyrgius is a xenopsychosurgeon.
In 422 BC, Aristophanes wrote a play entitled The Wasps in which he mocked jurors, accusing them of being corrupt and in Cleon's pay.
The Doctor says he's lived 900 years.
Psychic overflow from the mask impinges on the troposphere, causing the sunrise to last longer.
After the Doctor changes history slightly, he comments that he will have to edit Wikipedia to reflect the change.

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

This story was recorded on 24 & 25 February 2014 at the Moat Studios.
Subscribers whose subscriptions included this story also received the audio short story Waiting for Gadot.