Review: The Stones of Venice

The third audio adventure to be released for the Eighth Doctor and Charley Pollard is Paul Magrs's The Stones of Venice, which sees the two time travellers seeking a break from the stress and torment of exploring time and space. They arrive in the Venice of the future, shortly before the city's destruction, and unsurprisingly they get caught up in a shocking series of events - before the half-way point, Charley's already been kidnapped, held at knife-point, drugged and manipulated.

Sadly, a promising setting and a potentially brilliant storyline fail to impress, and this play is a hard one to get drawn into. I struggled to visualise some scenes, having very little idea of what Pietro and his fellows looked like, because we're given so few details. Leaving things to the audience's imagination is fair enough, but there seems to be a lack of description and exposition here.

Perhaps it's because this story is less 'special' than the others in this season that it feels a bit limp. Storm Warning reintroduced the Eighth Doctor and was the debut of his new companion, Sword of Orion saw the return of the Cybermen, and the Brigadier returns for Minuet in Hell - The Stones of Venice's only significant 'selling point' is the guest role by Doctor Who veteran Michael Sheard who, let's be honest, doesn't put in too brilliant a performance. In the context of the ongoing arc, Stones doesn't have anything that makes it immediately stand out like the other plays do, which is maybe why it feels less engaging.

The positives? The sound design creates an emotive and realistic environment, with a subtle score and some successful sound effects working well, as usual. Paul McGann, as the Doctor, carries the story brilliantly, feeling truer to his television incarnation than he's been so far in this season of stories. The script is well-written, with some nice twists, unusual surprises and great comic touches. Plus, Mark Gatiss contributes an amazing turn as Vincenzo, and India Fisher shows more of her range as a lovable Charley.

The Stones of Venice has all the ingredients of a winner, but things don't gel together in the way they should. The play comes so close to being brilliant, but never quite get there, and as a result it's a frustrating and disappointing listen.