This time next week The Crash of the Elysium will reopen its doors for a limited run at its new home in Ipswich.

Ahead of its big launch, here’s our quickfire interview with its writer, Tom MacRae, who tells us more about what fans can expect from the interactive show.

The adventure will be at the New Wolsey Theatre, as part of the Ipswich Arts Festival, from 15th June to 8th July. To find out more, and to book tickets, click here.

You can read our Q&A with Tom below – big thanks to him for answering our questions!

Q. Have you always been interested in writing?
A. Yes – I have always loved imagining stories and making thinks up, long before I realised it could be your job.

Q. What advice would you give to any aspriring writers out there?
A. Just keep working hard, write every day, and learn how to touch type!

Q. How did you first come to be involved with Doctor Who?
A. I was asked to come on to the second series of the show. It was quite easily the best invitation I ever got!

Q. What brought you to The Crash of the Elysium?
A. Punchdrunk, who produced the show, got in contact with the BBC via the Manchester International Festival, to talk about doing a Doctor Who show. The bosses at Doctor Who asked me if I would work on the show with Punchdrunk as a writer/creator. It didn’t have a name or a story then, though. We had to come up with all of that. So there was no such thing as The Crash of the Elysium at the time. It evolved over many months and lots of discussions.

Q. How did writing it differ to writing an actual episode? Did you approach it any differently?
A. It’s completely different, because the children who go round each show are the lead characters, and yet they don’t know the story or any dialogue, or even what’s in the script. When we do Doctor Who on the telly, the actors at least get to read a script a first – with Crash the lead characters just dive right into it!

Q. Were you pleased with the end result, and was it what you expected it to be?
A. It’s quite honestly the best thing ever. I completely love it.

Q. What can fans expect from the show?
A. The most exciting 60 minutes OF THEIR LIVES.

Q. You wrote The Girl Who Waited for Series 6 of Doctor Who. Were you pleased with how the episode was recieved?
A. I was beyond thrilled. The reviews were so good I nearly cried reading them! And it’s been nominated for a big award for it in the US, the Hugo.

Q. You were also responsible for bringing the Cybermen back in Series 2. What was it like to be in charge of such an iconic villain?
A. It was a lot of pressure but also a huge lot of fun. It was a real honour.

Q. Finally, do you have any Doctor Who projects lined up for the future?
A. Spoilers!

Stay tuned for more exciting news about ‘The Crash of the Elysium’ over the next week!