''Assassin in the Limelight'' is a 2008

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...

audio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

based on the long-running British

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

''. The episode stars

Colin Baker Colin Charles Baker (born 8 June 1943) is an English actor. He played Paul Merroney in the BBC television drama series ''The Brothers (1972 TV series), The Brothers'' from 1974 to 1976 and the Sixth Doctor, sixth incarnation of The Doctor (Do ...

The Doctor The Doctor, sometimes known as Doctor Who, is the protagonist of the long-running BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. An extraterrestrial Time Lord, the Doctor travels the universe in a time travelling spaceship called th ...

. Featured guests include

Lysette Anthony Lysette Anne Chodzko (born 26 September 1963), known professionally as Lysette Anthony, is an English actress and model. She is known for her roles in the film ''Husbands and Wives'' (1992), as Princess Lyssa in the 1983 fantasy epic '' Krull' ...

Plot

Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in 1863. The theater is best known for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater box where ...

, April 14, 1865. The fate of the assassination of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

hangs in the balance, as a result of the meddling of Doctor Robert Knox.

Cast

—

Evelyn Smythe This is a list of fictional characters who were companions of the Doctor, in various spinoff media based on the long-running British science fiction television series, ''Doctor Who''. A Abby Amy, portrayed by Ciara Janson, is a companion ...

—

Maggie Stables Margaret Helen "Maggie" Stables (born 1932 ) , 2014) was a British actress who played the part of the companion Evelyn Smythe in a range of audio dramas by Big Finish Productions based on the BBC television series ''Doctor Who''. Career Stabl ...

*Robert Knox —

Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. He appeared in the '' Carry On'' ...

Clara Harris Clara Hamilton Harris (September 9, 1834 – December 25, 1883) was an American socialite. She and her then fiancé, and future husband, Henry Rathbone, were the guests of President Abraham Lincoln the night he was shot at Ford's Theat ...

—

* John Parker —

Eric Loren Eric Loren is an American film and television actor, and author. He has appeared on many TV shows and films. His most notable film roles are as Deputy Ryan in The Fourth Kind, as well as appearing in small roles in Red Lights and Green Zone. H ...

*Lizzie Williams —

Madeleine Potter Madeleine Daly Potter is an American actress who has played roles in over 20 films and TV shows, including four productions directed by James Ivory. She has also appeared in numerous stage productions in the United States and United Kingdom. She ...

*Henry Clay Ford — Alan Marriott *

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassinated United States president Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the p ...

— Paul Dubois *

Thomas Eckert Thomas Thompson Eckert (April 23, 1825 – October 20, 1910) was an officer in the U.S. Army, Chief of the War Department Telegraph Staff from 1862 to 1866, United States Assistant Secretary of War from 1866 to 1867 and an executive at Western ...

— Mikey O'Connor

Notes

*This play sees Leslie Phillips reprising his role as Doctor Robert Knox from '' Medicinal Purposes''. *The aliens in this story were previously in '' Pier Pressure''. *Eric Loren previously played Mr Diagoras and the Dalek Sec Hybrid in the

Tenth Doctor The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is played by David Tennant in three series and nine specials. The character has also appeared in other ''Docto ...

story "

Daleks in Manhattan "Daleks in Manhattan" is the fourth episode of the third series of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast on BBC One on 21 April 2007. It is part one of a two-part story. Its concluding part, " Evolut ...

"/"

Evolution of the Daleks Evolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, resulting in certai ...

". *The sound design and music for this story is by Martin Johnson. Martin composed the music for the stage adaptations of ''

The Evil of the Daleks ''The Evil of the Daleks'' is the mostly-missing ninth and final serial of the fourth season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which originally aired in seven weekly parts from 20 May to 1 July 1967. In this seri ...

'' (2006) and '' The Dalek Masterplan'' (2007), the latter of which involved

Nicholas Briggs Nicholas Briggs (born 29 September 1961) is an English actor, writer, director, sound designer and composer. He is associated with the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its spin-offs, particularly as the voice of the Da ...

. *The '

limelight Limelight (also known as Drummond light or calcium light)James R. Smith (2004). ''San Francisco's Lost Landmarks'', Quill Driver Books. is a non-electric type of stage lighting that was once used in theatres and music halls. An intense illum ...

' of the title is a reference to the stage lighting of the era which assassin John Wilkes Booth would have been in as an actor, but is also a play on the phrase "in the limelight" being a reference to a person being the object of attention.

References

External links

Big Finish Productions – ''Assassin in the Limelight''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Assassin In The Limelight 2008 audio plays Sixth Doctor audio plays Fiction set in 1865