The Haunting of Bryck Place

"Nothing better than a punctual ghost."

Writer: Georgia Cook

Format: Audio

Released: June 2022

Series: Interludes 03

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace

Synopsis

Hackney Village, the 1540s. Bryck Place is a new construction: the first house in London built from bricks – but it already has a ghost. The apparition of a young woman, dressed in black, walks the halls nightly, whispering strange incantations. Nobody knows what this entity is, or what it wants, until Ace and the Doctor arrive to unlock the mystery...

Verdict

The Haunting of Bryck Place was a very good Interludes audio adventure! This was a really good bonus to go alongside the Silver and Ice first series of Seventh Doctor Adventures and it was nice to get new content with Ace, as I would argue she is more synonymous with the Seventh Doctor than Mel. However, as there is so much Ace content out there I'm glad the main bulk of the series is focused on Mel. Anyway, into the story at hand and I thought it was a really strong outing. It was nice for it to be a pseudo-historical and just having the Doctor and Ace in 1540s Britain during the Tudor era was excellent. Ace liked to think that she knew London better than anyone, but with it being almost like an assembly of villages at this point in time her sense of direction wasn't quite there which was fun. The number of characters in the story wasn't actually that many, but it was far from obvious that Sophie Aldred was the only actress performing which is testament to her qualities. It was a brilliant job from her with the narration! Her impression of the Seventh Doctor always amuses me as whilst the noticeable quirks of Sylvester McCoy are often there, the Scottish accent is pretty mad. So it definitely caught me by surprise when in the story Ace exclaimed that the Doctor wasn't Scottish! The idea of the Doctor and Ace visiting the first brick house in London hardly seems like the most exciting trips in history, but when that new house was seemingly already haunted with a ghost then we had a strong pull. I liked how Ace was quick to reference Gabriel Chase and the events of Ghost Light with the clear similarities and parallels with that serial, but considering the two lead characters are the same this adventure did well in being different. I was impressed with that. The sceptre being seen in the house depicting the image of Ace was fascinating and I loved the reaction after chasing when she was actually flesh and blood. It was fun for the Doctor to claim that he knew all along what was happening in the house simple from a new frame in a new house depicting an old painting, but that's just good characterisation of the Seventh Doctor! Ace was the star of the show though as you would expect and she really does get a chance to shine. When the Doctor explains that the painting is a memory vault I really liked the concept and the conversation they were having after getting lost being that of which they heard from the sceptre was nicely done. It brought everything full circle and the memory being one from the future was a fun twist. I liked the emotion that Ace invoked when the Doctor almost dismissively asked her to deposit memories and preserve them in the house, but she was abundantly clear that her memories were her own and not for anyone else. I thought that was excellent and I appreciated that the Doctor later apologised for asking that of her. As a whole, the story was brilliant in capturing the feel of Tudor London but then really delving deep into a haunted adventure. It was a terrific balance. Overall, a very strong audio!

Rating: 8/10