RANI TAKES ON THE WORLD: BEYOND BANNERMAN ROAD

School’s out forever

RELEASED OUT NOW! 187 minutes | Cd/download Publisher Big Finish

AUDIO DRAMA Elisabeth Sladen’s death in 2011 spelled an early end for spin-off series The Sarah Jane Adventures. Since then, her young co-stars have grown up. Here Anjli Mohindra returns as Rani, now a journalist still grieving the loss of her mentor.

Joseph Lidster’s set-opener “Here Today” opens with Rani and Clyde (Daniel Anthony) reuniting in a London bar. Life updates quickly give way to UNIT soldiers and flying saucers. Killed in an explosion, they find themselves back in the bar with their friends – then it happens again, and again. The repeats go on long enough to start to grate, but by the end the time loop is tied up neatly in a touching romance with hints of The Man Who Fell To Earth.

James Goss’s “Destination: Wedding” sees Rani and her mother Gita (Mina Anwar) travel to a private island for the celebrity-packed nuptials of an old schoolfriend. But Tiff’s fairy tale romance seems too good to be true – and she’s invited a surprising number of people she bears grudges towards to her special day. There are some poignant moments and musings on life seeming to pass you by, but it’s a weaker tale with too neat an ending.

“The Witching Tree” by Lizzie Hopley ups the dread factor as Rani investigates a mysterious tree growing through a restaurant. There are some genuinely creepy moments, and it’s interesting to get a sense of Rani’s work, but the ending to one story thread feels almost unreasonably cruel and sours the finale somewhat. An entertaining set that has its flaws. Rhian Drinkwater

A TV show about the life of suffragette Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, written by Anjli Mohindra, is in development.