''His Dark Materials'' is a play written by British playwright Nicholas Wright, adapted from the

Philip Pullman Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is an English writer. His books include the fantasy trilogy ''His Dark Materials'' and ''The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ'', a fictionalised biography of Jesus. In 2008, ''The ...

fantasy novel trilogy of the same title. The production premiered in the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

's Olivier Theatre, London, in 2003. Due to the complications in staging a piece containing the narrative of three books, the play was performed in two parts in alternate performances. The play is published by

Nick Hern Books Nick Hern Books is a London-based independent specialist publisher of plays, theatre books and screenplays. The company was founded by the former Methuen drama editor Nicholas Hern in 1988. History Nick Hern Books was founded in June 1988,Sara ...

Synopsis

The play follows the same plot as the books – a story of the

coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

of two children, Will Parry and

Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua (), also known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the heroine of Philip Pullman's trilogy ''His Dark Materials''. In ''His Dark Materials'' Lyra is a young girl who inhabits a universe parallel to our own. Brought up in the cloistered world ...

, and their adventures as they wander through a series of parallel universes against a backdrop of epic events. During their quest, the pair encounter various fantasy creatures such as

witches Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have use ...

and armoured polar bears in a journey which they hope will take them to

The Republic of Heaven ''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of Fantasy literature, fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of ''Northern Lights (Pullman novel), Northern Lights'' (1995; published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), ''The Subtle Knife'' (1 ...

. There are however some substantial differences, most notably the removal of the character Dr. Mary Malone, whose role in the story is turned over to the witch Serafina Pekala. Similarly the eponymous amber spyglass of the third novel, associated with Malone, is also largely absent.

Productions

Original production

The original production was staged at the Olivier Theatre, National Theatre and ran from 20 December 2003 until 27 March 2004. The production was directed by

Nicholas Hytner Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner (; born 7 May 1956) is an English theatre director, film director, and film producer. He was previously the Artistic Director of London's National Theatre. His major successes as director include ''Miss Saigon'', ''Th ...

and featured the following cast: *

Pantalaimon Lyra Belacqua (), also known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the heroine of Philip Pullman's trilogy ''His Dark Materials''. In ''His Dark Materials'' Lyra is a young girl who inhabits a universe parallel to our own. Brought up in the cloistered world ...

– Samuel Barnett *

Lord Boreal This is a list of characters from the two Philip Pullman trilogies, ''His Dark Materials'' and ''The Book of Dust''. Introduced in ''Northern Lights'' Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua, later known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the central character of ...

– John Carlisle * Will Parry –

Dominic Cooper Dominic Edward Cooper (born 2 June 1978) is an English actor known for his portrayal of comic book characters Jesse Custer on the AMC show ''Preacher'' (2016–2019) and young Howard Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with appearances ...

Serafina Pekkala This is a list of characters from the two Philip Pullman trilogies, ''His Dark Materials'' and ''The Book of Dust''. Introduced in ''Northern Lights'' Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua, later known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the central character of ...

–

Niamh Cusack Niamh Cusack ( ; born 20 October 1959) is an Irish actress. Born to a family with deep roots in the performing arts, Cusack has been involved as a performer since a young age. She has served with the UK's two leading theatre companies, the R ...

Lord Asriel Lord Asriel is a character in Philip Pullman's ''His Dark Materials'' trilogy. Asriel is a member of the aristocracy in a parallel universe dominated by the Church. He is described as being "a tall man with powerful shoulders, a fierce dark fac ...

–

Timothy Dalton Timothy Leonard Dalton Leggett (; born 21 March 1946) is a British actor. Beginning his career on stage, he made his film debut as Philip II of France in the 1968 historical drama ''The Lion in Winter''. He gained international prominence as ...

Farder Coram This is a list of characters from the two Philip Pullman trilogies, ''His Dark Materials'' and ''The Book of Dust''. Introduced in ''Northern Lights'' Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua, later known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the central character of ...

–

Patrick Godfrey Patrick Lindesay Archibald Godfrey (born 13 February 1933) is an English actor of film, television and stage. Life and career Godfrey was born in Finsbury, London to Rev. Frederick Godfrey and Lois Mary Gladys (née Turner). In 1956 Godfrey ...

John Faa John Faa ( fl. 1540–1553), the ''King of the Gypsies'', was a historical character from Scotland, a contemporary of King James V. Although historical sources place him in Dunbar, in the east of Scotland, much folklore associates him with the Gal ...

–

Stephen Greif Stephen John Greif (; 26 August 1944 – 23 December 2022) was an English actor known for his roles as Travis in ''Blake's 7'', Harry Fenning in three series of ''Citizen Smith'', Signor Donato in ''Casanova'' and Commander John Shepherd in '' ...

Billy Costa William Anthony "Billy" Costa (born December 24, 1952) is an American radio and television host in the Boston area. Early life Costa grew up in East Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. He attend ...

–

Jamie Harding Jamie Harding (born 12 June 1979) is an English actor best known for his role as 9/11 hijacker Ahmed al-Nami in the 2006 film, '' United 93''. Early life and career Harding was born and brought up in London, England to an English father and a ...

Mrs Coulter Marisa Coulter ( née Delamare) is a fictional character in Philip Pullman's ''His Dark Materials'' trilogy and one of the main antagonists of '' Northern Lights''. She is the former lover of Lord Asriel and is usually called "Mrs Coulter". De ...

–

Patricia Hodge Patricia Ann Hodge, OBE (born 29 September 1946) is an English actor. She is known on-screen for playing Phyllida Erskine-Brown in '' Rumpole of the Bailey'' (1978–1992), Jemima Shore in ''Jemima Shore Investigates'' (1983), Penny in '' Mira ...

* Dr Cade –

Akbar Kurtha Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

* Jopari/

Iofur Raknison This is a list of characters from the two Philip Pullman trilogies, ''His Dark Materials'' and '' The Book of Dust''. Introduced in ''Northern Lights'' Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua, later known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the central character of ...

–

Chris Larkin Chris Larkin (born Christopher Stephens, 19 June 1967) is an English actor. Early life Born Christopher Larkin Stephens on 19 June 1967 in London, Larkin is the elder son of actors Dame Maggie Smith and Sir Robert Stephens. His younger brot ...

*Tortured Witch/

Harpy In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, a harpy (plural harpies, , ; lat, harpȳia) is a half-human and half-bird personification of storm winds. They feature in Homeric poems. Descriptions They were generally depicted as birds with the hea ...

– Inika Leigh Wright *

Salcilia This is a list of characters from the two Philip Pullman trilogies, ''His Dark Materials'' and ''The Book of Dust''. Introduced in ''Northern Lights'' Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua, later known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the central character of ...

– Helena Lymbery * Fra Pavel/

Lee Scoresby This is a list of characters from the two Philip Pullman trilogies, ''His Dark Materials'' and ''The Book of Dust''. Introduced in ''Northern Lights'' Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua, later known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the central character of ...

– Tim McMullan *

Professor Hopcraft Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

– Iain Mitchell *

–

Anna Maxwell Martin Anna Maxwell Martin (born Anna Charlotte Martin; 27 May 1977),Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1984–2006 listed birth name as ''Anna Charlotte Martin''; Registration year 1977; Registration District Beverley, Yorkshire som ...

Macaw Lady Macaws are a group of New World parrots that are long-tailed and often colorful. They are popular in aviculture or as companion parrots, although there are conservation concerns about several species in the wild. Biology Of the many differe ...

– Helen Murton * Stelmaria – Emily Mytton * Ruta Skadi –

Cecilia Noble Cecilia Angela Noble (born 11 June 1966) is an English actress who has appeared in various television series, films and on stage with a career spanning over thirty years. Some of her notable television roles include Beverley Jackson in ''The Bi ...

Mrs Lonsdale Mrs. (American English) or Mrs (British English; standard English pronunciation: ) is a commonly used English honorific for women, usually for those who are married and who do not instead use another title (or rank), such as ''Doctor'', ''Profe ...

–

Katy Odey Katy or KATY may refer to: People * Katy, a short form of the name Katherine * Katy (given name) * Katy (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a fictional character * Katy Perry Places Serbia * Kać, Serbia ( hu, Káty, link=no) United States * Katy, Mi ...

*Thorold – Nick Sampson *

Iorek Byrnison This is a list of characters from the two Philip Pullman trilogies, ''His Dark Materials'' and '' The Book of Dust''. Introduced in ''Northern Lights'' Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua, later known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the central character of ...

–

Dany Sapani Danny Sapani (born 15 November 1970) is a British actor who works in British, American, and Indian films. He is best known for appearing in '' Misfits'', ''Doctor Who'', ''Penny Dreadful'', ''The Crown'', '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'' and ''Blac ...

*Ben – Jason Thorpe *

Roger Parslow This is a list of characters from the two Philip Pullman trilogies, ''His Dark Materials'' and '' The Book of Dust''. Introduced in ''Northern Lights'' Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua, later known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the central character of ...

–

Russell Tovey Russell George Tovey (born 14 November 1981) is an English actor. He is best known for playing the role of werewolf George Sands in the BBC's supernatural comedy-drama '' Being Human'', Rudge in both the stage and film versions of ''The Histo ...

*Perkins – Daniel Tuite *Astronomy Scholar/ Dr West – Andrew Westfield *

Brother Jasper A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

–

Ben Whishaw Benjamin John Whishaw (born 14 October 1980) is an English actor and producer. After winning a British Independent Film Award for his performance in ''My Brother Tom'' (2001), he was nominated for an Olivier Award for his portrayal of the titl ...

*Angelica –

Katie Wimpenny Katie is an English feminine name. It is a form Katherine, Kate, Caitlin, Kathleen, Katey and their related forms. It is frequently used on its own. People Sports *Katie Boulter (born 1996), British tennis player *Katie Clark (born 1994), Brit ...

*Golden Monkey – Ben Wright *

Tony Costa Antone Charles "Tony" Costa (August 2, 1944 – May 12, 1974) was an American serial killer and carpenter who achieved notoriety for committing serial murders in and around the Massachusetts town of Truro in 1969. Early life and crimes A ...

– Richard Youman All other parts were played by members of the company. The technical crew were as follows: *

Set Designer Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly train ...

–

Giles Cadle Giles Cadle is a British set designer. He studied architecture at Kingston, followed by a postgraduate diploma in stage design at Nottingham. He has designed sets for theatre, opera and musical productions in the UK, Germany, New Zealand, and the U ...

Costume Designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costume ...

– Jon Morrell *

Puppet Designer A puppet designer is a person who designs and creates puppets for themselves or for other ventriloquists and puppeteers. Puppetry predates recorded history, written history in many cultures , and seems to have evolved from the mask. In Eastern a ...

– Michael Curry *

Lighting Designer In theatre, a lighting designer (or LD) works with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create the lighting, atmosphere, and time of day for the production in response to the text while keeping ...

–

Paule Constable Paule Constable is a British lighting designer. She won the 2005, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2020 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Lighting Design. She was also a nominee for four further productions and for a 2007 Tony Award on Broadway. In 2011 she won t ...

* Video Projection Designer –

Thomas Gray Thomas Gray (26 December 1716 – 30 July 1771) was an English poet, letter-writer, classics, classical scholar, and professor at Pembroke College, Cambridge, Pembroke College, Cambridge. He is widely known for his ''Elegy Written in a Country ...

for The Gray Circle * Computer Graphics Designer –

Yuri Tanaka Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. * Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Ja ...

for The Gray Circle *

Choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

/ Associate Director – Aletta Collins *

Music Composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

– Jonathan Dove *

Music Director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the d ...

– Steve Edis *

Fight Director Stage combat, fight craft or fight choreography is a specialised technique in theatre designed to create the illusion of physical combat without causing harm to the performers. It is employed in live stage plays as well as operatic and ballet pr ...

– Terry King *

Sound Designer In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

–

Paul Groothuis Paul Groothuis is a Dutch sound designer who has had a long career working on the London stage. Groothuis was born in the Netherlands and moved to the UK in 1979 to study Stage Management at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He joined the N ...

2004 revival

The production was revived, again at the Olivier, National Theatre, in 2004. It opened on 20 November 2004 and ran until 2 April 2005. The production was again directed by Nicholas Hytner with Matt Wilde and featured the following cast: *Serafina Pekkala –

Adjoa Andoh Adjoa Andoh Hon. FRSL (born 14 January 1963) is a British actress. On stage, she has played lead roles with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, the Royal Court Theatre and the Almeida Theatre. On television, she appeared in tw ...

*Billy Costa – Mark Buchner *Lord Boreal – John Carlisle *Jessie –

Michelle Dockery Michelle Suzanne Dockery (born 15 December 1981) is an English television and film actress. She is best known for her leading performance as Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV television period drama series ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2015), for which ...

*Mrs Lonsdale –

Vanessa Earl Vanessa may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Vanessa'' (Millais painting), an 1868 painting by Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais * ''Vanessa'', a 1933 novel by Hugh Walpole * ''Vanessa'', a 1952 instrumental song written by Bernie W ...

*Pantalaimon – Jamie Harding *Roger Parslow – Darren Hart *Iofur Raknison/Jeptha Jones –

Don Gallagher Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

*John Faa –

Ian Gelder Ian Gelder (born 3 June 1949) is a British actor. He is known for his numerous stage and screen roles, including Mr Dekker in '' Torchwood: Children of Earth'' and Kevan Lannister in '' Game of Thrones''. Career Gelder appeared in the TV movi ...

*Lord Asriel –

David Harewood David Harewood MBE (born 8 December 1965) is a British actor and presenter. He is best known for his roles as CIA Counterterrorism Director David Estes in ''Homeland'' (2011–2012), and as J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter and Hank Henshaw / C ...

*Golden Monkey – Leo Kay *Farder Coram – David Killick *Ben –

Pascal Langdale Pascal Langlois, better known as Pascal Langdale, is an English actor and voice actor. He has played supporting roles in a number of television dramas since 1999. Langdale also lent his voice and likeness to the critically acclaimed video game '' ...

*Lilly – Samantha Lawson *Brother Jasper/ Kaisa –

Elliot Levey Elliot Levey (born 6 December 1973) is an Olivier award winning actor. Career Olivier award winner for the role of Herr Shultz in Cabaret.known for his work in British Theatre, he has performed at the Donmar Warehouse, Almeida and National Th ...

*Will Parry – Michael Legge *Stelmaria – Emma Manton *Mrs Coulter –

Lesley Manville Lesley Ann Manville (born 12 March 1956) is an English actress known for her frequent collaborations with Mike Leigh, appearing in the films ''Grown-Ups'' (1980), '' High Hopes'' (1988), '' Secrets & Lies'' (1996), ''Topsy-Turvy'' (1999), '' A ...

*Professor Hopcraft – Iain Mitchell *Salcilia –

Victoria Moseley Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

*Daisy – Helen Murton *Dr Cade – Chiké Okonkwo *Tony Costa – Harry Peacock *Lee Scoresby –

Alan Perrin Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname *Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * A ...

*Iorek Byrnison –

Alistair Petrie Alistair Petrie (born 30 September 1970) is a British actor. He has starred in ''The Bank Job'' (2008), ''Cloud Atlas'' (2012), '' Rush'' (2013) and '' Rogue One: A Star Wars Story'' (2016). Petrie has also starred in the Channel 4 television ...

*Dr West – Dodger Phillips *Thorold/

Balthamos This is a list of characters from the two Philip Pullman trilogies, ''His Dark Materials'' and '' The Book of Dust''. Introduced in ''Northern Lights'' Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua, later known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the central character of ...

–

Samuel Roukin Samuel Roukin (ROO-kin; born 15 August 1980) is an English actor and DJ. He is best known for his role as John Graves Simcoe in the series, '' Turn: Washington's Spies'' and Simon "Ghost" Riley in ''Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.'' Early li ...

*Fra Pavel – Nick Sampson *Ruta Skadi/Betty – Rachel Sanders *Lyra Belacqua – Elaine Symons The technical crew remained largely the same as the original production with only the following changes/additions: *Associate Lighting Designer –

Vic Smerdon Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense): ...

*Music Director –

Mark Bousie Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

Awards and nominations

The production won two

Laurence Olivier Awards The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

in 2005 for Best Set Design for Giles Cadle and Best Lighting Design for

.Laurence Olivier Awards: Past winners , Official London Theatre Guide

References

External links

''His Dark Materials'' (Part 1) on the National Theatre website''His Dark Materials'' (Part 2) on the National Theatre website
{{DEFAULTSORT:His Dark Materials (Play) 2003 plays Plays by Nicholas Wright Plays based on novels His Dark Materials