The Peterloo Massacre (audio story)
- You may be looking for the titular event.
The Peterloo Massacre was the two hundred and tenth story in Big Finish's monthly range. It was written by Paul Magrs and featured Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor, Janet Fielding as Tegan and Sarah Sutton as Nyssa.
Publisher's summary
"They say there'll be thousands pouring into Manchester tomorrow. From all over the county, north and south. It'll be a piece of history. People will remember this!"
Lost in the smog of the Industrial Revolution, the TARDIS crashes four miles south of Manchester, in the grounds of Hurley Hall – a grand mansion belonging to a local factory owner, a proudly self-made man. But while Hurley dreams of growing richer still on the wealth of secret knowledge locked up in the Doctor's time and space machine, his servants hope only for a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. His young maid Cathy, for instance, whom Nyssa learns is looking forward to joining the working people's march to St Peter's Field, in the heart of the city. There'll be speeches and banners and music. It'll be like one big jamboree...
Or so she thinks. For the city's establishment have called in their own private militia, to control the crowd. One of the darkest days in Manchester's history is about to unfold – and the Doctor, Nyssa and Jovanka are right in the thick of it.
Plot
Part one
The TARDIS, carrying the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa, gets taken off course after a heavy dose of smog interferes with its systems during travel and crash-lands near Manchester. They are found by Cathy Roberts, William Hurley and his father Hurley. Cathy discusses the event with her father Roberts and he forbids her from going to the protest tomorrow, citing behaviour like this is leading her to strange and dangerous situations. After getting some rest, they wake up and meet industrialist and engineer Mr. Hurley, who learns about the TARDIS (which he is told is a ship) and gets some men to bring it back to his estate, interested in it for his own ends though. The TARDIS is heavily damaged and the Doctor informs Tegan and Nyssa privately that the self-repair will take a day before they're ready to go. Hurley offers the Doctor a tour of his factory who, intrigued, agrees and brings Tegan along while he asks Nyssa to stay with the TARDIS in case it needs some assistance in its self-repair. Inside the factory they learn Hurley is employing children and one of them gets injured and trapped in one of the machines, and the Doctor, ignoring Hurley's warning, goes down to the factory floor to save him. Cathy meets Nyssa but is told off by Mrs. Hurley who then introduces herself to Nyssa.
The Doctor manages to save the boy much to Hurley's annoyance and attempts to treat him despite Hurley's insults and indifference, preferring to simply dismiss him. Tegan volunteers to head into town to look for medical supplies for the Doctor since Mr. Hurley doesn't keep them around for his employees and she is unwillingly accompanied by William Hurley while the Doctor says that he and Mr. Hurley need to discuss the way his factory is run. Mrs. Hurley finds out about the march that Cathy intends to go on tomorrow and dismisses her and while Nyssa tries to defend her and calm the situation, Mrs. Hurley kicks her out as well. The Doctor, in his discussion with Hurley, discovers the chronometer was badly damaged and that they're not in the time he thought, but are in 1819, on the eve of a very dark day in history...
Part two
The Doctor is dismayed to discover they've landed in the hours leading up to the Peterloo Massacre and his friends have gone out to wonder freely before the event is about to take place, putting themselves inadvertently in grave danger. Tegan and William Hurley argue about the state of the city and the poor people as their views are completely opposite. Cathy takes Nyssa back to her house and meets her baby brother Peter. Cathy talks about her hardships and they compare backgrounds after which she tells her that there will be a large gathering tomorrow and convinces her to come. It turns out William Hurley is an officer in the private defense force/militia, a force that is funded by his father's factory. The Doctor meets Mrs. Hurley who explains she has fired Cathy and dismissed Nyssa. Nyssa, after listening to Cathy, agrees to come out with her to the protest tomorrow. Tegan is locked up after being found by captain Walton and accused of being a saboteur and that William Hurley lied about his position, being a lowly lieutenant. The Doctor goes to Cathy's house and meets her father who tells him she's likely to be found at the big gathering taking place and he runs off. He bumps into William Hurley on his way with his friend, investigative journalist Thomas Tyler.
Part three
to be added
Part four
to be added
Cast
- The Doctor - Peter Davison
- Nyssa - Sarah Sutton
- Tegan - Janet Fielding
- Cathy Roberts - Hayley Jane Standing
- Hurley - Robbie Stevens
- William Hurley - Gerard Kearns
- Thomas Tyler - Philip Labey
- Walton/Roberts/Reverend Small - Wayne Forester
- Mrs Hurley/Sister - Liz Morgan
References
- Walton fought in the Battle of Waterloo on 18 June 1815.
- The Peterloo Massacre is a fixed point in time.
- Percy Shelley wrote a poem about the massacre.
Notes
- This story was recorded on 6 and 7 July 2015 at The Moat Studios.
- The Doctor sprains his ankle, a reference to the cliché that companions would frequently twist their ankles in the classic series. Here, it is the Doctor who suffers this fate. The Eighth Doctor also sprained his ankle in Magrs' 1998 novel The Scarlet Empress.
- This story was originally released on CD and download.
Continuity
- Nyssa has told Tegan about her visit to Gallifrey. (TV: Arc of Infinity)
- Tegan once again exclaims, "Rabbits!" (TV: Logopolis, Frontios, et. al)
- The TARDIS' automated repair systems will take a day or two. The Doctor previously referred to the TARDIS knowing how to fix something if it's happened before. (PROSE: The Sands of Time)
- The Doctor refers to Percy Shelley. During his eighth incarnation, Shelley's wife Mary Shelley became one of his companions. (AUDIO: Mary's Story, The Silver Turk, et. al.) The Thirteenth Doctor met Percy Shelley while staying at the Villa Diodati. (TV: The Haunting of Villa Diodati)
- Tegan refers to her brief departure from the TARDIS. (TV: Time-Flight, Arc of Infinity; AUDIO: The Waters of Amsterdam)
- The Fifth Doctor, Nyssa and Tegan also visited Manchester in 1993. (PROSE: Goth Opera)
External links
- Official The Peterloo Massacre page at bigfinish.com
