In 1989 theatre
producer, the late Mark Furness,
staged a family orientated stage
production of Doctor Who entitled
The Ultimate Adventure
written by highly respected
former series writer and
script-editor Terence Dicks. This
incorporated The Doctor facing
the combined might of the Daleks
and the Cybermen assisted by his
new companions Jason and Crystal.
The play opened in March 1989
with Jon Pertwee re-creating the
role of the third Doctor. When
Pertwee's initial contract ended
Mark Furness asked Colin Baker to
resume his role as the 6th
incarnation which he had finished
playing only three years
previously. Much to the delight
of fans Colin agreed and joined
the tour during Jon Pertwee's
final two weeks in the show in
Manchester and Oxford to rehearse
with the cast ready for his
return to centre stage as the
colourful Sixth Doctor. Colin
chose not to wear his television
coat, of which he had never been
over fond, and instead a brand
new costume was made for him
which allowed the jacket to
incorporate purples and blues
which hadn't been possible on TV
due to problems with the Colour
Seperation Overlay process for
special effects. Colin toured
with the show to the following
venues:
5th - 10th June
Opera House, Newcastle Upon Tyne
12th - 17th June
Theatre Royal, Nottingham
19th - 24th June
Grand Opera House, Leeds
26th June - 1st July
Theatre Royal, Brighton
3rd - 8th July
Playhouse Theatre, Edinburgh
10th - 15th July
Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton
17th - 22nd July
Derngate Theatre, Northampton
24th - 28th July
Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
31st July - 5th
August King's Theatre, Southsea
7th - 19th August
(two weeks) Congress Theatre,
Eastbourne
Colin Baker in his
redesigned Sixth Doctor costume
for the 1989 stage tour of
"The Ultimate
Adventure"
The cast:
COLIN BAKER The
Doctor
GRAEME SMITH / DAVID
BINGHAM Jason
REBECCA THORNHILL
Crystal
JUDITH HIBBERT
Delilah / Mrs. Thatcher
DAVID BANKS Karl
CHRISTOPHER BEAUMONT
US Envoy
WOLF CHRISTIAN
Cyberleader
TROY WEBB Emperor
Dalek
STEPHANIE COLBOURN
Zog
OLIVER GRAY Dalek
DEBORAH HECHT
Waitress
CLAUDIA KELLY
Ant-person
ALISON REDDIHOUGH
Mercenary
PAULA TAPPENDEN
Chief Dalek
TERRY WALSH Duelling
Guard
The hot summer of
that year meant that business was
not too good and plans for a
further tour and maybe even a
season at the London Palladium
were abandoned.
For the many people
who saw it, The Ultimate
Adventure remains a fond
experience of the Doctor Who
phenomenon live on stage in the
company of two very different,
but equally fantastic, Time
Lords.
In 2008 Big Finish
Productions announced they were
adapting the stage play into
audio format as part of their
increasing Doctor Who range.
Colin Baker agreed to re-create
his part as the Sixth Doctor
alongside David Banks reprising
his stage role as mercernary
Karl. CLICK HERE to order this CD.
For further details
on this Doctor Who spin off log
on to http://www.theultimateadventure.co.uk/
The Doctor (Colin
Baker) attempts to rescue the US
Envoy whilst Karl (David Banks)
looks away
A publicity shot of
the Sixth Doctor (these were
taken during Jon Pertwee's week
at the Bristol Hippodrome in May
1989 before Colin's stage costume
was ready!)
Zog (Stephanie
Colburn), Crystal (Rebecca
Thornhill) and Jason (Graeme
Smith) look on as the Doctor
reverses the liniarity of the
proton flow...
Rebecca Thornhill,
Colin Baker and Graeme Smith
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