The Hollow Crown was the second and final story in the audio anthology The First Doctor Adventures: Volume Five, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Sarah Grochala and featured David Bradley as the First Doctor, Claudia Grant as Susan Foreman, Jamie Glover as Ian Chesterton and Jemma Powell as Barbara Wright.
Publisher's summary[]
When the TARDIS lands in Shoreditch, 1601, the Doctor suggests going to see a play at the Globe Theatre and his friends readily agree.
But this is a turbulent time. There is violence in the street, plots against the Queen, and rebellion is in the air. At the centre of it all stands the most famous playwright in British history - William Shakespeare - who is having troubles of his own.
As tensions mount and wheels turn within wheels, the travellers are about to discover if the play really is the thing...
Plot[]
The Winter of Discontent (1)[]
The TARDIS materialises with an uneasy shudder in a narrow, cobbled lane of Shoreditch in 1601. As the Doctor fusses over the console, Susan peeks out to see a troupe of actors marching toward the Globe Theatre—their ruffs stiff with frost. Drawn by a distant clatter of hooves, the Doctor, Ian and Barbara step outside just in time to witness a squad of Royal Guard charging past under torchlight. One guard shouts a warning of “seditious pamphlets” circulating among the crowd. When Susan points out a familiar face in the throng—William Shakespeare pacing anxiously by a boarded window—the Doctor realises they’ve landed in the midst of political intrigue, not merely a frozen winter’s night.
The Play’s the Thing (2)[]
Inside the Globe’s wooden galleries, Shakespeare frets over his new manuscript: he fears that hidden references in his play on kingship may be taken as coded support for the Earl of Essex’s rebellion. As the players rehearse a scene beneath flickering candle sconces, Barbara notes subtle changes in the dialogue—lines added overnight by an unknown hand. Meanwhile, Ian and Susan slip backstage and find a scrap of paper marked with Essex’s heraldry among the props. When Lord Essex himself bursts in to demand that Shakespeare delay the premiere, the Doctor intervenes, defusing a heated confrontation with a well‑timed demonstration of his sonic screwdriver’s harmless “stage magic.”
The Drums of War (3)[]
News of Essex’s failed uprising reaches Shoreditch by a ragged herald who collapses in the theatre yard. As snow begins to fall outside, the Doctor tends the wounded messenger while Barbara and Ian help Shakespeare decipher the cryptic lines that Essex’s conspirators hoped to smuggle into the final act. Deep within the Globe’s undercroft, Susan uncovers a hidden trunk containing rebel manifestos printed on stolen presses. When Lord Robert Cecil arrives—bearing a royal summons—he accuses Shakespeare of treason. With all eyes on the playwright, the Doctor secretly slips Cecil a falsified letter proving Shakespeare’s loyalty, buying precious time before Elizabeth’s wrath descends.
The Hollow Crown (4)[]
On the night of the premiere, the theatre thrums with anticipation. Icicles hang from the eaves, and the crowd’s breath fogs the entrance. As actors don their cloaks, the Doctor realises that Essex’s final gambit is to assassinate Elizabeth I during the curtain call. Racing through winding back passages, Susan alerts the Guard while Ian and Barbara usher Shakespeare toward the stage. Just as the disguised assassin raises his dagger, the Doctor bursts through the wings, startling the would‑be killer and sending the weapon clattering to the boards. The play proceeds without bloodshed: Shakespeare’s final lines—“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown”—echo ironically as Queen Elizabeth herself takes the stage for a private viewing. In the aftermath, the Doctor reminds Shakespeare that true kingship rests not in rebellion or plots, but in the stories we choose to tell. With the danger passed and history preserved, the travellers slip back into the TARDIS and depart, leaving Bard and monarch to tend their fragile peace.
Cast[]
- The Doctor - David Bradley
- Susan - Claudia Grant
- Ian Chesterton - Jamie Glover
- Barbara Wright - Jemma Powell
- William Shakespeare - Nicholas Asbury
- Judith Shakespeare - Lauren Cornelius
- Elizabeth I - Wendy Craig
- Lady Penelope Rich / Hawker - Liane-Rose Bunce
- Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex / Lord Cecil - Ian Conningham
Crew[]
- Writer - Sarah Grochala
- Cover Art - Tom Webster
- Director - Ken Bentley
- Executive Producers - Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs
- Music and Sound Design - Howard Carter
- Producer - David Richardson
- Script Editor - John Dorney
Worldbuilding[]
- Shoreditch in 1601 lay just outside the City walls, its playhouses deliberately sited to evade strict civic licensing and heavy taxes.
- Shakespeare’s Globe hides an undercroft press, used by Essex’s rebels to print seditious pamphlets between rehearsals.
- The “Winter of 1601” was one of the coldest on record—open‑air performances meant actors braved frost, and audience breath misted in the raked galleries.
- Elizabeth I’s private viewing box at the Globe was reserved for courtiers; its canopy was sound‑proofed so the Queen could hear only the lines she approved.
- Lord Cecil maintained a web of informants among street hawkers and costume‑makers, intercepting rebel codes slipped into theatrical props.
Notes[]
Alternate cover
- This story is a "pure historical" featuring no science fiction elements apart from the presence of the Doctor, Susan, Ian, Barbara and the TARDIS.
- As of July 2025, this is the most recent release from The First Doctor Adventures to feature David Bradley, Jamie Glover, Jemma Powell and Claudia Grant's interpretations of the First Doctor, Ian Chesterton, Barbara Wright and Susan Foreman. Stephen Noonan would take over the role of the First Doctor from the next release onwards.
Continuity[]
- Both William Shakespeare and Elizabeth I recall meeting the Doctor before, but both conclude that the First Doctor is clearly a different person. (TV: The Shakespeare Code, The Day of the Doctor)
- Susan and Barbara recall their failure to change history when encountering the Romanovs in Ekaterinburg (AUDIO: Last of the Romanovs) and the Aztecs. (TV: The Aztecs)
- The Doctor is arrested by guards at the Tower of London on standing order of Elizabeth I. (TV: The Shakespeare Code)
- This isn't the first account in which Judith Shakespeare pretends to be a boy. (AUDIO: The Kingmaker)
- In a parallel universe, an alternate version of Susan and the Doctor also met Elizabeth I. (AUDIO: Auld Mortality)
- Susan has previously expressed frustration at being treated like a child. (AUDIO: Tick-Tock World)
External links[]
- Official The Hollow Crown page at bigfinish.com
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