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Two of the last three evenings, I've seen Parts 1 and 2 of His Dark Materials at the National Theatre.
With that much material, it's inevitable that there would be chops and changes, different approaches to situations, things taken away, things put in. What strikes me most, of course, about any kind of visual production of written word - the same was true of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy - is how, of course, a whole paragraph of a hundred words, or more, can be condensed into a single costume, or set, or effect, that needs no words to explain it.
The way the NT have approached His Dark Materials is original, innovative, and effective. The way it portrays the leads' daemons is remarkably clever, yet ridiculously simple at the same time. The Olivier auditorium at the NT is also blessed with an amazing system of revolving stage segments and the like, allowing an almost cinematic dynamism to scene changes.
The adaptation itself is not without its problems. There is a little too much that is exposed in the dialogue, that remains either implicit, or mentioned en passant at a later point in the books. Admittedly, for anyone watching the plays who's already read the books, none of this comes as a surprise. For someone new to the works, though, it may all seem a little unsubtle - to which I'd say, go read the books. All that said, the flow of the story is right, the lead performers are all excellent, the script bounces along very well, and the poignant moments really do work very well.
Part 2 shaded Part 1, for me. It's hard to put a finger on exactly why, except to say it's darker.
Well worth the admission price, and it's bound to be run again; for now, get tickets, if you can.
With that much material, it's inevitable that there would be chops and changes, different approaches to situations, things taken away, things put in. What strikes me most, of course, about any kind of visual production of written word - the same was true of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy - is how, of course, a whole paragraph of a hundred words, or more, can be condensed into a single costume, or set, or effect, that needs no words to explain it.
The way the NT have approached His Dark Materials is original, innovative, and effective. The way it portrays the leads' daemons is remarkably clever, yet ridiculously simple at the same time. The Olivier auditorium at the NT is also blessed with an amazing system of revolving stage segments and the like, allowing an almost cinematic dynamism to scene changes.
The adaptation itself is not without its problems. There is a little too much that is exposed in the dialogue, that remains either implicit, or mentioned en passant at a later point in the books. Admittedly, for anyone watching the plays who's already read the books, none of this comes as a surprise. For someone new to the works, though, it may all seem a little unsubtle - to which I'd say, go read the books. All that said, the flow of the story is right, the lead performers are all excellent, the script bounces along very well, and the poignant moments really do work very well.
Part 2 shaded Part 1, for me. It's hard to put a finger on exactly why, except to say it's darker.
Well worth the admission price, and it's bound to be run again; for now, get tickets, if you can.
