Genre Science Fiction | Original language English First performance 16 December 1974 | |
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Date premiered 16 December 1974 (1974-12-16) Similar Science Fiction plays, Other plays | ||
Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday was a stage play based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The play ran at the Adelphi Theatre in London, England for four weeks, beginning on 16 December 1974.
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Originally, the part of the Doctor was to be played by Jon Pertwee, but the role went instead to character actor Trevor Martin. Martin had previously appeared in Doctor Who as a Time Lord in the 1969 serial, The War Games. In the play, it is stated that Martin's version of the Doctor is regenerated from Pertwee's; this makes him an alternate version of the Fourth Doctor. (The play premiered about two weeks before Tom Baker began his television tenure as the Fourth Doctor).
Appearing as the Doctor's companions were Wendy Padbury as Jenny, and James Matthews as Jimmy. Padbury had previously played the Doctor's companion Zoe Herriot in the television series. Future The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy star Simon Jones appeared as the Master of Karn as well as Dalek extra.
The plot centres on the Daleks, who are trying to take over the universe with the help of their crab-like slaves, the Clawrantulars. The play was directed by Mick Hughes and written by Terrance Dicks, former script editor for the Doctor Who television series. Dicks would later use some of the plot elements in his Fourth Doctor story The Brain of Morbius.
The play was actually titled Seven Keys to Doomsday but the additional wording regarding Doctor Who and the Daleks came into common usage due to its prominence on promotional material.
Remembering Seven Keys to Doomsday
Cast
Other productions
In December 1981, the Buxton Drama League staged a production at the Buxton Opera House in the United Kingdom, starring Colin Jones as the Doctor.
Between 24 November and 8 December 1984 ten performances of the show were staged by the Porirua Little Theatre, at the Community Hall in Titahi Bay, Porirua, New Zealand. The same script as the 1974 English production was used, with actor Michael Sagar taking the role of the Doctor. The Doctor's companions Jenny and Dave were played by Theresa Milgate and Alistair Hudson respectively. Three Daleks were custom-built for the production, and also used to promote the play in central Wellington. Director Brian Hudson had previously worked for the BBC during the late 1960s and early 1970s, and was a fan of Doctor Who.
Audio adaptation
In 2008 Big Finish Productions released The Seven Keys to Doomsday as an audio drama, directed by John Ainsworth.
Cast
*Charlie Hayes is the daughter of Wendy Padbury, who played Jenny in the original stage production.