Location | Cast & Crew | Publications | Dates and Ticket Info

In December 2003, The National Theatre in London presented a stage version of the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman in two, three hour long parts, performed back to back or on separate nights, directed by Nicholas Hytner and written by Nicholas Wright. The NT ran a revival of the play again in November of 2004. The revival has now ended, and there are no plans to bring it back for a third time--we will keep this section of the site online as an archive of the information relating to the play.

The press description for the stage play reads:

"HIS DARK MATERIALS takes us on a thrilling journey through worlds familiar and unknown. For Lyra and Will, its two central characters, it's a coming of age and a transforming spiritual experience. Their great quest demands a savage struggle against the most dangerous of enemies. They encounter fantastical creatures in parallel worlds - rebellious angels, soul-eating spectres, child-catching Gobblers and the armoured bears and witch-clans of the Arctic. Finally, before reaching, perhaps, the republic of heaven, they must visit the land of the dead.

This will be an epic production both in its narrative scope and its staging, involving artists from new technologies as well as old. His Dark Materials is one of the National's most ambitious projects, and aims to create an experience as meaningful for 12 year olds as for adults. Parts I and II can be seen on separate dates, or on the same day in a double-bill."

According to the Daily Telegraph, "Hytner is promising grand spectacle too. The planned adaptation of Philip Pullman's magnificent spiritual trilogy, His Dark Materials, will, he promises, be 'big, adventurous and conceptually extravagant. The books are unstageable, so that should keep me busy.'"

There has been a lot of speculation about how some of the elements of His Dark Materials will be staged... or whether they will even be included at all. Some sources have said that the mulefa won't be included, and that large amounts of the plot have been cut or trimmed down (which is to be expected... His Dark Materials is simply to large-scale to stage all of it). Puppetry will be used, probably for daemons and similar aspects, and video will supposedly be used to create the windows to parallel worlds. The National Theatre told us that "Rehearsals started on Monday, September 15, and although the designs and the puppets are extremely wonderful, due to the nature of theatre, the technical side of things won't be up and running until near to December," so there aren't a whole lot of details yet.

Location:

The Olivier is unique in that it has the only Drum-revolve stage in the world. ("basically a revolving stage that can sink 25 metres below the stage and split into 2 parts allowing scenery to be loaded on and off below the stage, whilst the other half of the revolve is onstage with another set on it!" -Magik)

Cast & Crew

New: The cast for the second run of the stage play was announced on September 7, 2004 in a press release from the NT. Most of the actors from the first run are gone (except for John Carlise as Lord Boreal).

Update: The rest of the cast roles have now been announced on the NT's site. They are: Serafina Pekkala: Adjoa Andoh
Billy Costa: Mark Bailey
Lord Boreal: John Carlisle
Jessie (new character): Michelle Dockery
Mrs Lonsdale: Vanessa Earl
Pantalaimon: Jamie Harding
Roger: Darren Hart
Iofur Raknison/Jeptha Jones: Don Gallagher
John Faa: Ian Gelder
Lord Asriel: David Harewod
Golden Monkey: Leo Kay
Farder Coram: David Killick
Lilly (new character): Samantha Lawson
Will: Michael Legge
Brother Jasper/Kaisa: Elliot Levey
Stelmaria: Emma Manton
Mrs Coulter: Lesley Manville
Ben: Tom McKay
Professor Hopcraft: Iain Mitchell
Salcilia: Victoria Moseley
Daisy (new character): Helen Murton
Dr Cade: Chike Okonkwo
Tony Costa: Harry Peacock
Lee Scoresby: Alan Perrin
Iorek: Alistair Petrie
Dr West: Dodger Phillips
Thorold/Balthamos: Samuel Roukin
Fra Pavel: Nick Sampson
Ruta Skadi/Betty: Rachel Sandars
Lyra: Elaine Symons

The actors this time around will be:

Adjoa Andoh (Serafina Pekkala) (View Picture)
John Carlisle (Lord Boreal) (View Picture)
Michelle Dockery (View Picture)
Don Gallagher (View Picture)
Ian Gelder
David Harewood (Lord Asriel) (..pic in NT's 'Othello')
Jamie Harding (Pantalaimon - formerly Billy Costa) (View Picture)
Darren Hart (View Picture)
Leo Kay
David Killick
Samantha Lawson (View Picture)
Michael Legge (Will) (View Picture -corrected)
Elliot Levey (View Picture)
Emma Manton (View Picture)
Lesley Manville (Mrs Coulter) (View Picture)
Tom McKay
Iain Mitchell
Victoria Moseley (View Picture)
Helen Murton (View Picture as Pipistrelle in the first run)
Nick Sampson (Thorold in the first run)
and Elaine Symons (Lyra)(View Picture)

Photo Credit: Hugo Glendinning - First Run of the Play

Dominic Cooper's stage work includes Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the RSC, Caryl Churchill Events at the Royal Court and Mother Clap's Molly House at the National. Television and film credits include Band of Brothers, From Hell and Boudica.

Niamh Cusack makes her debut at the National. Her stage work includes Merchant of Venice at Chichester Festival Theatre and Romeo And Juliet, Othello and As You Like It at the RSC. Television credits include Too Good To Be True, State of Mind, Trust, and Heartbeat.

Timothy Dalton makes his debut at the National Theatre, his stage work includes Romeo and Juliet, Henry V, Henry IV, Love's Labour's Lost . Anthony and Cleapatra, Taming of the Shrew and most recently at the Young Vic and in the West End A Touch of the Poet. His extensive film and television work includes Licence to Kill, Agatha, Hawks, The Living Daylights, Scarlett, Framed, The Informant and Lie Down with Lions.

Patricia Hodge returns to the National where she was last seen in Noises Off and Summerfolk and A Little Night Music. Her West End work includes Noel and Gertie, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Benefactors, and Separate Tables. Her many television and films include A Girl of Slender Means, Rumpole of the Bailey, Jemima Shore Investigates, Hotel du Lac, The Lives and Loves of a She Devil and Sweet Medicine

Anna Maxwell Martin's work at the National includes Irina inThree Sisters (now in the Lyttelton), Honour and The Coast of Utopia. Other theatre credits include Little Foxes at the Donmar; films include The Hours.

Nicholas Hytner became Director of the National in April 2003. His previous NT productions include Henry V, The Wind in the Willows, The Madness of George III, Carousel, The Cripple of Inishmaan, The Winter's Tale and Mother Clap's Molly House. His films include The Madness of King George and The Crucible.

Nicholas Wright's version of Chekhov's Three Sisters is playing in the Lyttelton until October; his Olivier award-winning play Vincent in Brixton, which opened at the Cottesloe, returned to the West End for a second engagement after receiving a Tony nomination on Broadway and will tour this autumn. His other original plays include Cressida, Mrs Klein and The Desert Air; his many adaptations include Wedekind's Lulu, Pirandello's Naked and Six Characters in Search of an Author, and Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman.

Set designs are by Giles Cadle, costumes by Jon Morrell, puppets by Michael Curry, lighting by Paule Constable, choreography by Aletta Collins (also associate director), music by Jonathan Dove, fights by Terry King and sound by Paul Groothuis. The crew now also involves staff from The Gray Circle, including Video Projection Designer Thomas Gray, and Computer Graphics Designer Yuri Tanaka. The company works in performing arts with stage sets, "using image-making skills and projection we create evocative stage sets and backgrounds for plays."

Publications

In The Art of Darkness: Staging the Philip Pullman Trilogy, Robert Butler followed those involved in this adventure over the six months leading to the first performance. The book was published in early January 2004, by NT Publications in association with Oberon Books. The publisher's website says: "As the National Theatre presents the stage premiere of Philip Pullman’s trilogy 'His Dark Materials', Oberon Books takes you behind the scenes of the most ambitious and magical theatrical events in years.

Robert Butler tells the story of this theatrical epic from first rehearsal to first night, taking the reader on a unique back stage journey of a production unrivalled in its narrative scope and staging. His Dark Materials involves technologies old and new and 'The Art of Darkness' presents a unique inside account of how the magic of Philip Pullman's world is created on stage in front of a live audience. Whether you see the play or are unable to get tickets for this sell out production this is the book that will make you feel you were part of it from the very beginning." Read our review of The Art of Darkness. (Pre-order for £12.99) See cover art for the Art of Darkness

The book version of the script for the stage play is being published by Nick Hern Books, and is now available from The National Theatre. The breathtakingly ambitious adaptation is essential reading for those who have read (and loved) the book - and those who are yet to experience the thrill." (- Nick Hern Books). The book version costs £ 9.99.

The programme for the plays will be a special double programme for both Parts of His Dark Materials, and will contain new, specially commissioned material by Philip Pullman, a glossary of things found in the plays, interviews with Pullman and Nicholas Wright, portraits of people with their daemons through the ages, drawings by Pullman, as well as full information about the cast and production team, and photos of the company in rehearsal. Each programme also contains a delightful document explaining how to use an alethiometer.

Dates & Ticket Information

If you have news about the stage play, or are willing to write a review, please send us an e-mail at webmaster@bridgetothestars.net.