August 19th, 2025 no comments

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Big Finish The Death and Life of River Song 03 The Dissolution of Time

Available to order from www.bigfinish.com

River Song meets Anne Boleyn

Alex Kingston and Charithra Chandran star in The Death and Life of River Song: The Dissolution of Time, a full-cast audio drama box set, released today.

The latest adventure for River Song (Alex Kingston), the assassin turned time-travelling archaeologist, sees her plucked out of her Stormcage prison cell as the universe seems to collapse around her, only to find herself in the court of King Henry VIII (Harry Myers).

With an alien companion named Dust (Joseph Capp), River must repair the damage done to history in order to save the universe. But some people aren’t too keen on history taking its set course – in particular Anne Boleyn (Charithra Chandran).

Comprising the third volume in the ongoing series The Death and Life of River Song, The Dissolution of Time is an epic full-cast audio drama, scripted by Rochana Patel and told over four hour-long episodes: The Armageddon Game, Anne Boleyn Must Die, A Good Woman Goes to War, and The Schism Bloom.

The Death and Life of River Song: The Dissolution of Time is now available for just £22.99 (download to own) or £29.99 (download to own + collector’s edition CD) exclusively from www.bigfinish.com. Please note: the collector’s edition CD box set is strictly limited to 1,250 copies and will not be re-pressed.

River Song has been imprisoned in the Stormcage, facing multiple life sentences for the Doctor’s assassination… or, at least, she was. Now, time is collapsing, and River is unexpectedly marooned in Tudor England, 1536 – with a mysterious alien companion, Dust.

Someone, or something, has broken history: the distortions centring on the court of King Henry VIII. River must find the culprit, and fix the damage, before it’s too late. But some players, for whom established history does not end happily, may have other ideas…

Alex Kingston said: “When I first read this story, I was intrigued and a little bit surprised. I’d recently been involved in a production of The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory, which takes place within the court of Henry VIII, so the world and the story is very familiar to me.

“But of course, it’s got a fantastic twist, which brings alien elements into the Tudor court. The writer has really researched and used every snippet of factual history that we have about that time, and she’s really been able to play with that.”

This box set is the Big Finish debut of actor Charithra Chandran, who’s known for roles in popular TV shows Alex Rider, Bridgerton and Dune: Prophecy.

On playing Anne Boleyn, Charithra said: “It’s so exciting to play such an iconic figure, where there is so much lore behind her. She exists beyond the position that she has with her husband. She has this mystery to her. And it’s really fun to be able to explore that in this series.

“You see lots of different sides of her. You see her as a mother. You see her as the cunning politico. You see her as someone who’s really vulnerable and worried for her life. So this brings a lot more depth and nuance to Anne Boleyn.”

Praise for the previous The Death and Life of River Song box set, Ace and Tegan:

“Delivers in spades … Fraught, tight and finely wrought.” – Doctor Who Magazine

“A fun series of adventures.” – CultBox

“Ace and Tegan was everything I hoped it would be.” – Sci-Fi Pulse

Big Finish listeners can also purchase The Dissolution of Time in a multibuy bundle with the previous two The Death and Life of River Song box sets, Last Words and Ace and Tegan, for just £66 (download to own) or £80 (download to own + collector’s edition CD).

Categorised under: Big Finish, CD, spin-offs