Part Two of Nicholas Wright’s adaptation of Philip Pullman’s epic tale rambles along to its conclusion with a few more notable moments than Part One, but the same confusion exists.
Certain interesting characters surface in a welter of esoteric scenes and, quite frankly, I welcomed them since they provide the impetus this production badly needs where presentation continually overwhelms penetration and you find yourself continually lost in the dark (a concern voiced, incidentally, by confused audience members sitting immediately behind me).
But Daniel Brocklebank gives dimension and warmth to his playing of Baruch, the tragic Angel, a scene he shares well with Ben Thompson’s Balthamos both actors enticing the words off the page and fleshing them out admirably.
The same could be said for Christopher Ettridge’s thoughtful Boatman (a Charon-like figure) who rows the newly-dead across the river.
Here again, we hear the words, the scene is played quietly and one is able to listen to the thoughts of Lyra Belacqua and her mate Will Parry (the stalwart Amy McAllister aka Eve racing unscathed through a rollercoaster scenario which frequently compares to The Perils of Pauline with Nick Barber as the rescuing agent Will/Adam and her intimate).
Ruari Murchison and Malcolm Rippeth turn flat-stage scenic minimalism into something slightly less than breathtaking, but I did like the walls of smoke-enchanced downward lights while the mountain perspectives devised on an upstage cloth evoke a memory of Edward Gordon Craig’s early scenic austerities, and are excellent.
However, the “fairies” swinging around on sliding ladders in twenties gauzy tunics, flowery chaplets and sensible lace-up shoes are wide of the mark.
But one of the most interesting things about this unwieldy, less than mesmerising project, with its extensive doubling-up of roles, is the puppetry work and the obvious enthusiasm of the many actors.
As he did in Part One, the excellent (and elegantly self effacing) Thompson handles the dastardly Mrs Coulter’s monkey alter ego beautifully, while puppeteer Emma Manton is encouraged, for some reason, to carry around Lord Asriel’s over-large, unwieldy, daemon, Stelmaria, like a suitcase.
Production information can change over the run of the show.
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