Daemons dusted off for an epic stage show
Philip pullman’s continuing exploration of a parallel universe filled with soulful daemons and malevolent overlords, The Book Of Dust, is being turned into a theatrical epic that will land on the london stage next year.
it follows the success of pullman’s first trilogy, his Dark Materials, at the National Theatre more than 15 years ago.
The new tale, The Book Of Dust: la Belle Sauvage (first in the new series), is described by pullman as an ‘ equal, not a sequel or a prequel’ to his Dark Materials, and will open at the Bridge Theatre in autumn 2020.
The original novels — Northern lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass — sold millions of copies and, primarily, followed the magic and danger-filled adventures of lyra Belacqua, a young girl raised in an alternate world, and her daemon pantalaimon.
la Belle Sauvage takes place ten years before the incidents detailed in his Dark Materials.
Nicholas hytner, artistic chief at the Bridge (which he controls with Nick Starr) will direct la Belle Sauvage, which has been adapted by Bryony lavery. it will be a stand-alone show. The second volume of The Book Of Dust; The Secret Commonwealth (which takes place ten years after the Dark Materials stories) is published on October 3 and may well be adapted for theatrical purposes at a later date. hytner and pullman are old pals. When he ran the National,
hytner directed the two-part production of his Dark Materials, using material from all three books. it opened at the NT in 2003 and starred Anna Maxwell Martin, Dominic Cooper, patricia hodge and Timothy Dalton.
The main character in la Belle Sauvage is 11-year-old Malcolm polstead, who is put in jeopardy when he and his kingfisher daemon spot a nervous man who drops something, and operatives from the CCD (the Consistorial Court of Discipline) behaving mysteriously along a canal.
But a lot of the story will involve a very young lyra.
pullman has legions of fans around the world. A TV dramatisation of his Dark Materials by Jack Thorne will be broadcast soon on BBC1.
The series, from the Bad Wolf studio in Wales, stars James McAvoy, Ruth Wilson, AnneMarie Duff, lin-Manuel Miranda and Dafne Keen.