Good Night, Sweet Ladies by: Una McCormack directed by: Scott Handcock: Hello Mother

Good Night, Sweet Ladies stars Lisa Bowerman as Professor Bernice Summerfield.  It was written by Una McCormack, directed by Scott Handcock, and released in June 2014 by Big Finish Productions in The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield: Volume One Box Set.

 

From the comedy romp that was The Revolution, Benny is thrown onto the Moon of Adolin where she has to make it through a maze before she can get the next clue to Ace’s location.  On the moon there is a crashed ship with two survivors and a Dalek there to cause trouble for her.  The plot of the second installment of the box set is nothing special on the surface, but it is the twist that really does drive the story home for what it means to Benny as a character.  The story’s two side characters are the nervous Steven and the headstrong Claire played by John Finnamore and Sheila Reid respectively.  Steven is really the only part of the story that doesn’t work as he just is there for comic relief and to have someone else to talk to as the story could have easily worked as a two hander.

 

McCormack puts Benny through the wringer in this story as she reveals that Claire is the ghost of Claire Summerfield, aged to her proper age, and sent there to test Benny.  Claire died trying to retrieve her daughter’s doll and was vaporized by the Daleks and bringing her back into Benny’s life causes a cavalcade of emotions to come to Benny all in one instant.  The scenes between mother and daughter are both especially touching as they have to reunite only to be torn apart at the end of the story.  It provides the same closure as Return of the Living Dad did for Benny, but with much more of an impact as they never really would have been together.  Lisa Bowerman pulls it off brilliantly in the audio as she brings the audience right into the emotions that Benny would be feeling when she meets her dead mother for the first time.  It also marks a change as the tone which until the twist has a sarcastic feel as Benny is cracking jokes at the expense of everyone while Steven freaks out and Claire just sort of looks on, and turns into something intimate.  Sheila Reid steals the show as Claire Summerfield as we really can feel for the fact that she lost her daughter and would be proud of the woman she has become.

 

The direction from Scott Handcock has to be mentioned at the very least as it allows the hour long story to go by with ease.  Handcock makes the dialogue feel very intimate as you are there with the characters playing off the base under siege feeling with a lone Dalek, which is really there because they are supposed to be the main villains of the set.  McCormack shows just how well she understands these characters which is a definite plus as the story could have easily failed.  The final scenes will bring you to tears as you see Benny at the end of her rope.

 

To summarize, Good Night, Sweet Ladies is a definite improvement over The Revolution.  It is a masterpiece that is brought down by some excessive elements and the fact that it could be its own little story.  The acting and direction are both great from the rather small cast and it really does allow for something to change within the characters.  This is a story that makes the purchase of the entire set worth it and makes up for any lackluster beginning.  95/100.