The Drowned World by: Simon Guerrier directed by: Lisa Bowerman: Your Life For Your Daughter's

The Drowned World is performed by Jean Marsh as Sara Kingdom with Niall McGregor as Robert.  It was written by Simon Guerrier, directed by Lisa Bowerman, and released in July 2009 by Big Finish Productions.

 

Following up Home Truths with a story is of course a must and The Drowned World continues the story.  As that is the case this review will contain spoilers for Home Truths so do not read on unless you’ve listened to Home Truths.  There will also be spoilers for The Drowned World in this review.  The problem with following up Home Truths is that listeners will be more interested in the story of the House and Robert.  You will want to know what the world will decide to do with the House, as Sara Kingdom’s ghost exist and grants wishes.  Guerrier it seems wrote the storyline with the House first and tacked on the story of the drowning world on as an afterthought.  This makes the pacing just drag in places whenever we cut back to the flashbacks that the House is recording for Robert.  It isn’t a bad story by any means, being an homage to the base under siege that really lets Sara Kingdom shine while the Doctor is out of action for a while.  There are points where peril is definitely felt during this portion of the story and Marsh does a good job of narrating the story, it just doesn’t engage you as well as the mystery of Home Truths.  This really is apparent in the first half of the story when it is Sara narrating, but moving into the second half Robert actually gets to narrate the story to his sleeping daughter.

 

Most of the story is focusing on the ‘present’ day with Robert having to go back to the house with an old fashioned phonograph to record Sara Kingdom telling a story.  The powers that be, possibly a police state with a council dealing with administration of justice, want to shut down the House, but are allowing Robert to prove his case that Sara isn’t dangerous.  Here’s the problem for Robert, Sara or more specifically the House is dangerous.  It wants to grant everyone’s wishes with no real moral compass for right and wrong and we really see in The Drowned World, the cliffhanger of the story sees Robert humiliated as Sara used her powers to wipe the phonograph cylinders.  She’s doing this just so she can lure the council so she can grant their wishes.  She allows Robert’s wife to become pregnant, but Robert realizes what he’s done.  He has given her power and makes the House go quiet.  It’s a passionate scene and the second episode actually only picks up eleven years on with Robert travelling with his daughter, and stumbling on the House in a storm.  He realizes where he is, but it seems the House is dead so he tells his sleeping daughter more of the story before Sara wakes up.  The conclusion of the plotline with Robert sees Sara offering Robert and his daughter to stay in the House.  It’s this poignant ending to the story and makes up, in part at least, for the boring focus of the drowned world problem.

 

Jean Marsh as Sara Kingdom I’ve noticed especially in this one is how different she sounds when speaking and acting.  Speaking as herself she is very casual and allows for jokes with her cast mates and crew.  She’s very cynical and doesn’t see herself as a companion (but Robert can be Sara’s friend).  Acting changes Marsh into the character she’s playing, always pitching her voice up a bit and giving off an attitude of no nonsense about everything.  It’s a transformation into the character that can just captivate a listener and she does brilliantly at making the House feel different from Sara Kingdom.  Her performance as the House feels like Sara Kingdom with a very dark edge that it means well, but just lands in the uncanny valley and this feeling of dread with the inner workings only caring about the directive of satisfying needs.  Lisa Bowerman is also great at directing the story as always with some nice 1960s era futuristic music.

 

To summarize, The Drowned World is a story that doesn’t really hold up the quality of Home Truths with some of its parts being rather bland.  The overall quality is great with two performers who have a great gasp of the characters.  The A plot, which is the title of the story, doesn’t do anything interesting with the material while Simon Guerrier is too busy writing out the story of Robert and Sara Kingdom in the far future.  The directing is great and the story will bring emotions with the characters who are brilliantly written in a piece of character drama.  80/100.