The Stage

His Dark Materials - Part I and Part II

Published Thursday 9 December 2004 at 15:05 by Jeremy Austin

Although two separate plays, His Dark Materials Part I and Part II are not stand-alone pieces and certainly for the purposes of this review shall be treated as one production.

And what a production - revived from last year’s Christmas season, this is a theatrical tour de force that more than does justice to what will be considered one of the great works of 20th/21st-century fiction. Pullman’s trilogy has the scale, masterful storytelling and intellectual depth of CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien and Wright’s adaptation remains faithful to this, making the National’s production an epic experience.

While some elements of the story have been skilfully and surgically removed, the rest are seamlessly drawn together to present something that, while condemning organised religion, strengthens Pullman’s attempted allegorical depiction of the story of Christ.

This is an almost faultless piece of theatre. The casting is exquisite. Elaine Symons has the fire and energy and awakening sexuality necessary to fill the character of 12-year-old heroine Lyra Belacqua. Michael Legge’s Will Parry has the doubt and insecurity of the withdrawn, reluctant hero, while David Harewood’s Lord Asriel is the sort of man who could lead an expedition to an alternative universe and ultimately destroy God.

Lesley Manville floundered initially as Mrs Coulter. A shame, as she looks the part and, once she had regained her composure, managed to keep the evil torturer of children the right side of pantomime baddy.

Any adaptation of the trilogy will be beset by problems. Not least that, in Lyra’s universe, humans’ souls, called daemons, come in the form of animals, animals that change shape prior to puberty. Puppetry is the solution and here they are immersed in their animated personalities, with puppet designer Michael Curry sensibly opting for an artistic interpretation of the various daemons, angels and fighting bears rather than literal ones. The multitude of universes and locations are effectively contained within Giles Cadle’s mind-boggling set.

For anyone who sees this show, it will remain one of their most memorable theatrical experiences. If they take a child with them, that child will be hooked for life and surely that is the most important of all.