Warning! This article and its comments may contain spoilers...
WhovianNet attended the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular in Birmingham this week. Here is our review of what was the musical extravaganza to end them all…
The Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular made its long awaited UK debut this week after receiving critical and fan acclaim in Australia and New Zealand. As soon as the show begins you can’t help but wonder why it’s taken so long to reach the Doctor’s home turf, but fans can rest assured that it’s definitely been worth the wait. And then some!
Doctor Who devotees haven’t exactly been stuck for choice when it comes to stage extravaganzas celebrating the music and monsters of TV’s favourite Time Lord. Fans young and old have descended on the Royal Albert Hall year after year for the praised Doctor Who Proms and in 2010 a menagerie of the show’s iconic adversaries hit the road for Doctor Who Live: The Monsters Are Coming.
The Symphonic Spectacular, though, is something new. Although it follows the now familiar format of the show’s soundtrack being accompanied by video montages of the Doctor’s most memorable moments (while a host of aliens invade the audience, naturally!), this is solely a celebration of Murray Gold’s music and it doesn’t get much better than hearing his mesmerising melodies being performed by a live orchestra in all their glory.
Murray’s music really is the beating heart(s) of this show. Audience members are taken on a thrilling journey through time and space as they’re reminded just how much of an impact his compositions have had on the series since its return to our screens in 2005. His scores add another dimension to our hero’s ongoing extra terrestrial escapades and it wouldn’t be the Doctor Who we all know and love without them.
The only problem is, there just isn’t enough of it! As always whenever the Doctor is concerned, time flies when you’re having fun and it feels like it’s over before it’s even begun. With over 10 years of beloved music on Murray’s reputable résumé, it was always going to be hard to narrow it down into a limited two hour performance. The final running order perfectly channels the power of his music, though, with a focus on the Twelfth Doctor’s recent adventures - through electrifying tracks such as A Good Man? and Death in Heaven Suite - with a handful of blasts from the past for the older generation to enjoy, too (most notably Fifty – This is Gallifrey and the anthemic Vale Decem).
The biggest blast from the past of them all is, of course, the magnificent Peter Davison, who hosts the proceedings with the usual wit and charm that fans have come to expect from the real life alter ego of their hero’s fifth incarnation. All in all, the Symphonic Spectacular is a love letter to fans and the audience appreciation for the Doctor is tangible, as it is on stage from those bringing the show to life. The atmosphere in the arena was electric and, as it reached its breathtaking climax with a rendition of the universally adored theme tune, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Congratulations to Murray Gold, Ben Foster, Peter Davison, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, soloist Elin Manahan Thomas and everyone else who was involved in the production of the Symphonic Spectacular. Its next stop is New York in October, and it’s safe to say that US fans really are in for a treat!
Did you go to a Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular this week? Share your reviews below…
Warning! This article and its comments may contain spoilers...
The Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular has finally landed in the UK with the first show stopping performance taking place at London’s Wembley Arena last Friday (23rd May).
Hosted by Fifth Doctor Peter Davison, the tour will be hitting the road this week to bring a celebration of Doctor Who’s music and monsters to arenas across the country. It will be calling at Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle and Glasgow and you can see ticket availability for each of the venues here. Check out a selection of images from the first show, and let us know if you’re going, below.
The musical extravaganza arrives at the city’s Metro Radio Arena during half term, with two performances on Thursday 28th May 2015, and the persistent pepperpots have taken it upon themselves to ensure that everybody knows about it.
The iconic adversaries were pictured on the Millennium Bridge over the River Tyne and you can check out coverage of their invasion below. Exterminate!
The UK tour, presented by Peter Davison, kick off at London’s Wembley Arena on 23rd May.
The actor, who piloted the TARDIS in the early 80’s, decided to take matters into his own hands when he was excluded from the show’s official 50th anniversary festivities by joining forces with his fellow Classic Doctors in a light-hearted spoof. The film, which was released to coincide with The Day of the Doctor, was met with a rapturous response from fans who have since been campaigning for a second installment.
“I wasn’t expecting it to have such a huge reaction,” he admitted. “I’ll do it again if I come up with a good enough idea. I wouldn’t want to go into it half-heartedly if it was going to be nowhere near as good as the first one. Plus, I’d actually have to pay people this time!”
Peter will take to the stage to present the Symphonic Spectacular in UK arenas this month.
Would you be excited about a Five(ish) Doctors sequel? Who would you like to appear in it?
The two performances will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn at 3pm and 7:30pm on Wednesday 7th October 2015 and the festivities will be guest hosted by Michelle Gomez who fans will know as Missy.
The show is a celebration of Doctor Who’s music and monsters with performances of Murray Gold’s soundtrack accompanied by specially edited video montages.
After receiving fan acclaim on its respective Australia and New Zealand tours, the show will be hitting the road in the UK this month. Tickets for the NY show can be purchased here.
Have you been/are you going to a Symphonic Spectacular? Let us know in the comments…
It will be hitting the road next month to light up arenas across the country with its celebration of the show’s music and monsters and there will even be a Doctor in the house, in the form of Peter Davison, who will be hosting the proceedings after fronting the show in both Australia and New Zealand.
It will be landing in London, Cardiff, Birmingham, Leeds, Newcastle and Glasgow throughout May.
To commemorate the arrival of its first UK tour, cast your eyes on this Doctor Who inspired homage to the Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover. Who can you spot in it?
Have you got tickets to the Spectacular? Find out more by visiting its official website, here.
Warning! This article and its comments may contain spoilers...
The Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular will be heading to the UK next year and a new trailer has been released to promote its arrival.
After critically acclaimed tours in Australia and New Zealand, the show will be taking to arenas across Britain in May 2015 to wow audiences with its celebration of the music and monsters of Doctor Who.
Presented by Fifth Doctor Peter Davison, tickets for all of the venues are now on sale here. Watch the trailer below.
The actor, who played the Time Lord in the 1980s, will be the presenter for the duration of the tour, taking to the stage at all 6 of its nationwide venues to guide audiences on a thrilling adventure celebrating the music and monsters of Doctor Who.
In addition, due to popular demand, an additional matinee performance has been confirmed for Sunday 24th May 2015 at the SSE Arena, Wembley.
Peter has previously fronted the critically acclaimed Spectacular tours in Australia and New Zealand and will once again return down under for its forthcoming tour in early 2015.
“I’m very excited to be hosting the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular in the UK in 2015. Doctor Who fans are an extraordinary, wonderful bunch, who are very passionate about the series. The Symphonic Spectacular has already proved to be a monster hit down under with thousands of fans packing into arenas across the southern hemisphere and the UK’s first ever tour promises to be even bigger. I can’t believe that I will be taking the stage at some of the UK’s biggest arenas like Wembley’s SSE Arena and the First Direct Arena in Leeds. With Murray Gold’s amazing music performed live by the programme’s ‘house band’, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, I’m also looking forward to reuniting on stage with conductor Ben Foster.”
The critically acclaimed Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular will be returning down under next year.
The show will tour venues across Australia and New Zealand in early 2015 following the success of its previous runs. It will once again be hosted by Fifth Doctor Peter Davison who will take fans on a journey celebrating Murray Gold’s music from the series with a live orchestra accompanied by a big screen presentation of special montages. Music from Peter Capaldi’s debut eries will also be included for the first time.
Murray said: “Audiences will be able to hear the first public performances of music from the Capaldi era, encapsulating the dizzy rush and excitement of meeting a new Doctor.”
Tickets will go on general sale on 18th August 2014. See the dates and venues below.
Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide - 24th January 2015 Perth Arena, Perth – 31st January 2015 Quantas Credit Union Arena, Sydney – 7th February 2015 Vector Arena, Auckland - 15th February 2015
It’s been revealed that the Symphonic Spectacular will also make its UK debut in 2015.
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