Cult Spy: The Thespian Daleks

Earlier this week, it was announced that the Daleks would be gliding into the realms of pantomime later this year, trying to exterminate the likes of Aladdin and, erm, Faye from Steps. Casting aside the sorrow that the Daleks couldn’t train their egg whisks on Lee from Steps instead, Cult Spy takes a look at some of the theatrical adventures for the mutants from Skaro during the ‘classic’ era of Doctor Who…

The Curse of the Daleks (1965)

Such was the popularity of The Doctor’s foes in the mid 60s, this stage play didn’t even feature the Time Lord himself! Staged at the Wyndham Theatre in London for a month from mid December 1965, this theatrical endeavour cashed in on the Dalekmania of the time and showcased Terry Nation’s attempts to spin off his creations into their own adventures.

The plot centred around the attempts of some human space travellers to turn the Daleks into their servants, with an unsurprisingly less than successful outcome. Interesting, David Whitaker (who co-wrote the play with Nation) used some of the material for the premise of the 1966 story ‘Power of the Daleks’, which featured a misguided scientist called Lesterson trying to turn the Daleks into servile creatures.

Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday (1974)

Also lasting for a month over the festive period, this 1974 production actually featured The Doctor this time, with the Daleks enjoying a less successful time as a brand than their mid 60s heyday. Nonetheless, posters for the production featured a Dalek and not a Time Lord or Tardis in sight.

Perhaps some of this had to do with the fact that The Doctor was played by Trevor Martin in an interpretation of the character limited to the stage. The plot, constructed by prolific Who scribe Terrance Dicks, may have been a tad predictable in focussing on the Daleks’ plans for global domination, but did offer up the imaginatively titled Clawrantulars as their crab-like slaves. Presumably the Ogrons were jetting off for a holiday on Metebilis 3 or something…

The Ultimate Adventure (1989)

Accorded extra gravitas by the fact that Jon Pertwee and Colin Baker – the third and sixth incarnations of the televisual Doctor – this 1989 touring musical production sadly missed out on the opportunity to allow the Daleks to flex their vocal chords. Aesthetically, the metallic menaces didn’t look too great, resembling a cheaper version of the (already cheap) television versions.

Still, with a script also written by Terrance Dicks there was much to enjoy, most notably the long-awaited comeback of the Emperor Dalek – not seen since the 1967 adventure ‘Evil of the Daleks’. Furthermore, fans also lapped up the fact that the Daleks and Cybermen were appearing together at long last, which never happened during the 26 years of the original series. Funnily enough, it only took two seasons of the revived show to pit the two legendary enemies together – and only one season to reintroduce the Emperor Dalek!