Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular - First ever cosplay outing!

Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular.

On the 20^th December, I had the pleasure of attending the 2012 Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular, which ran from the 15^th to the 21^st December 2012 at the Sydney Opera House.
It was hectic to arrange, but was well worth it! As a new Whovian, I didn’t – and still don’t – have many Whovian friends. I asked my grandparents if they’d pay for the ticket as an early Christmas present and they delightfully agreed! The next issue was trying to arrange someone to go with me! My grandfather offered to come, but it wasn’t really any good for him to come, because he didn’t particularly know the storylines or the monsters of the last few series. Sure, the music was amazing and could be appreciated no matter your knowledge of the show, but to see a cyberman next to you wouldn’t really mean anything! I asked another friend, but she’s only on series 2 of Doctor Who, so, again, she didn’t know anything about series 5 onwards. I found another friend. Again, I was rejected because he couldn’t afford it! Finally, on my birthday in late November, I received some amazing news! I was on orientation for a new school the day before and the day of my birthday, where I had the pleasure of meeting 3 fellow Whovians! The final afternoon (being that of my birthday), I asked them if they’d be interested in going with me. They all perked up, but only two said that they could come. That was fine! I only needed one person beside myself to go!

We spent weeks trying to organise tickets, and money, and finally, only about a week before the concert, we arranged tickets. We were in row P, towards the middle of the row. Excellent seats – we could see the symphony and the hosts – the marvellous Alex Kingston (River Song) and Mark Williams (Brian Williams) perfectly.

We all decided to go in costume. I didn’t have much choice in the matter – I had long ginger hair. I was to be Donna or Amy. I decided that I could pull off Amy easier – Karen herself is only 9 years older than me! I also already had enough things to pull off Amy Pond during an Australian summer! One of my friends went as a female Captain Jack Harkness! She was quite amazing actually. She lacked the coat and the vortex manipulator, but had the shirt, skirt, suspenders and shoes perfect! My other friend went as the TARDIS, in a stunning blue dress.

I took my inspiration for this from a few different episodes. I took the red from the episodes flesh and stone/the time of angels. In this episode Amy wore a red hooded jumper, a black miniskirt, black stockings and blue converse.

Because it was the middle of December (summer) here in Australia, I decided to use a red tank top instead. I wore a straight cut black skirt (I didn’t wear a miniskirt, but I’m sure you get the idea), and I dropped the idea of the stockings! Instead of blue converse, I wore a pair of black heeled boots. Not particularly a style that was taken from any episode, but we do see her in boots occasionally, and these were the only pair I had at home.

I did put a few little curls into my hair before departing, however I sadly had to walk to the train station (a 20 minute walk) because all four of my travel methods fell through. It was a hot and humid day, and so the curls pretty much just fell. But, I still had my naturally ginger hair to show who I was supposed to be.

The concert was amazing! Afterwards I had the privilege of getting Alex Kingston and Mark William’s autograph at the stage door. There were too many people around when Alex came out, so I missed the chance for a photo with her (I got photos of her, but not with her). However, Mark came out a little later, and so most people had left, and I got several photos with Mark. I got a photo of just Mark and I however it was taken on an ancient phone, and so the quality wasn’t amazing. Then, my two friends and I all got in with Mark, and got a group shot. These images involved me getting a bit of a side hug – twice! Sadly, we know Mark as being Arthur Weasley more than Rory’s Dad, Brian, so we couldn’t help but to make references to Harry Potter. The best reference was when my friend asked him “What exactly is the function of a rubber duck?” to which he replied “For amusement”.  

It was well worth the $143.10 for the ticket! I couldn’t help but to buy some merchandise – the TARDIS Laplander beanie (I got the last one in the WHOLE Opera House), a Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular shirt, and the program. I had the front of the program signed, so I have decided to frame the whole program (I’m purchasing the frames tomorrow – one for the program and one for the image of my group and Mark).

I highly recommend Murray Gold’s music to anyone who loves a good movie soundtrack. It is superbly done, and of high quality.

For my first ever cosplay outing, I was quite impressed with my costume. I know that it wasn’t perfect, but it was comprised of things that I found in and around my house. Nothing was bought specifically for the event.

Before leaving the house, curls perfectly in place

Me with Mark. I've cropped out my other friends from this photo.

I got a photo of sorts with Alex...
This was a cardboard cut out of River that was in the foyer.
As you can see, i've done my fair share of merch shopping by this point!