Dark and delightful adventure
Prepare to be transported to the magnetic but menacing world as cult fantasy hits the small screen. We speak to two of its stars..
Take Philip Pullman’s best-selling fantasy trilogy, a huge budget and a mega-star cast and you’ve got the ingredients of this deliciously dark Sunday night drama.
The eight-parter is penned by Jack Thorne – who wrote the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage show and The Accident TV drama.
Diehard fans of the novels will not be disappointed. The adaptation doesn’t stray too far from the original, and each book will be a separate series, starting with Northern Lights.
We will be immediately catapulted into the labyrinthine corridors of Jordan College, Oxford, where rebellious teen Lyra (Dafne Keen) is being brought up by The Master, Dr Carne (Clarke Peters) after being left in his care by her explorer uncle Lord Asriel (James McAvoy).
Everyone has a daemon – an animal sidekick who embodies many of their characteristics.
Lyra – whose deamon is called Pan and can switch species – dreams of them embarking on a wild adventure. That becomes a tangible reality when enigmatic Mrs Coulter (Ruth Wilson) offers her the chance to go to London with her as an apprentice.
But when Lyra’s best friend Roger disappears – possibly the victim of child-kidnapping group the Gobblers – it’s clear there’s much more to this plot than a simple coming-of-age story.
Soon, Lyra is at the centre of a dangerous new world and multiple morally complex universes.
She has more power than she could ever imagine and only one thing she can turn to, her trusty, truth-telling golden compass.
Speaking about taking on the role of fearless hero Lyra, actress Dafne – who had a break-out role in the 2017 X-Men spin-off film Logan – explains it was a gem of a part.
“When I first did the auditions, I genuinely thought I wasn’t going to get it,” she revealed.
“Also, I’d been stung by a jellyfish so my whole face was swollen, so adding that in I thought, ‘This is definitely not going to work out for me!’
“Then I did my audition with Ruth Wilson, and that went really well. I feel like me and Lyra don’t physically look alike but personality wise, we’re not that far off. We’re very, very nosy and curious – quite loud and quite cheeky in general.” Co-star Ruth, famed for parts in hits including Luther and The Affair, says that there was nobody else who could do the part justice. She said: “Dafne came into the audition and we knew instantly that she was the one. “She brought such amazing energy that I thought, ‘I’ve got to put some of that into my performance’. I was taking notes from her – she’s brilliant.” But it’s Ruth herself who takes the small-screen project to the next level. From the moment she steps on screen alongside her golden monkey daemon, it’s impossible to take your eyes off her beautiful, but brilliantly destructive Mrs Coulter. She somehow makes her vile and vulnerable at the same time. And while she appears all sweetness and light in the first episode, Ruth promises her dark side will quickly emerge. She explained: “Usually you get, ‘blonde, curvaceous, mid-30s’ but for this you had, ‘cesspit of moral filth’. It’s glorious. When that came through, I t houg ht, ‘I can’t say no to this’. “These books are extraordinary and this part is so mysterious, unknowable and constantly unpredictable, which is why it’s such a joy to play. “She’s a master manipulator and she knows what she’s doing. She’s incredibly intelligent, driven and she wants what she wants.” And she’s fully prepared for viewers to be terrified of the ghastly character after it airs, joking: “My nieces and nephews won’t want me to babysit again!” Dafne hopes her character will have a much more positive effect on viewers. “The most amazing thing about Lyra and what every single girl should take from her is don’t be scared,” she said. “Go out there and be yourself because if you are a force of nature, which Lyra is, you will make yourself seen and heard.”