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The Book of Dust - La Belle Sauvage

• Cast & Creative

Overview of the production

Philip Pullman sets  The Book of Dust – La Belle Sauvage  twelve years before his epic  His Dark Materials  trilogy.

Two young people and their dæmons, with everything at stake, find themselves at the centre of a terrifying manhunt. In their care is a tiny child called Lyra Belacqua, and in that child lies the fate of the future. And as the waters rise around them, powerful adversaries conspire for mastery of Dust: salvation to some, the source of infinite corruption to others.

Eighteen years after his ground breaking production of His Dark Materials  at the National Theatre, Nicholas Hytner returns to Pullman’s parallel universe to direct a gripping adaptation by Bryony Lavery.

“A theatrical marvel” The Guardian ★★★★

“A terrific piece of story-telling” WhatsOnStage ★★★★

“Beautifully atmospheric” The Financial Times ★★★★

“Dacres and Creasey are a superb double act” The Jewish Chronicle ★★★★

General Information

• Scenes of threat and physical violence
• Gunshot sound effect
• Reference of sexual violence towards a minor
• Strobe effect and flashing lights
• Smoke and haze

Ticket prices Monday – Friday: £69.50, £55, £39.50, £25, £15 Saturdays and Christmas weeks (w/c 20 & 27 Dec): £75, £57.50, £42.50, £25, £15 Reduced prices for previews & midweek matinées Premium tickets available

Download the TodayTix app to access exclusive £25 rush tickets

Schools rate Band A–D tickets (excluding Premiums) reduced to £22.50 on Monday – Wednesday performances (including matinees). Not valid between 20 December to 3 January

Performance schedule  Monday – Saturday: 7.30pm Wednesdays & Saturdays: 2.30pm Schedule may vary over Christmas. On 17 February the performance will begin at 7pm. On Thursday 17 February there will be a 1.30pm matinée.

Length  Approx 2hrs 30mins, including an interval

Access Performances   Audio described performance: Saturday 5 February 2022, 2.30pm Listen to the show notes here Captioned performance: Tuesday 8 February 2022, 7.30pm

NT Live This production will be streamed by NT Live on 17 February 2022. For more information head to thebookofdust.ntlive.com/synopsis

We'd love to keep you up to date with our news and productions

Additional content.

Julie Atherton

Theatre includes The Grinning Man and  Through the Door at Trafalgar Studios;  Avenue Q , Mamma Mia! , Fame (also UK tour), Tick Tick Boom , The Last Five Years ,  A Spoonful of Stiles and Drewe , Christmas in New York and The Great British Musical in Concert in the West End; Cinderella at the Lyric Hammersmith; Liver Birds Flying Home for Seabright; January the Musical  at the Zedel; The Green Fairy at the Union;  Pure Imagination and Tempting Fate at the St James; I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change , Mrs Gucci , and Little By Little at the Arts; Shock Treatment at the King’s Head;  Thérèse Raquin at the Finborough / Park;  Ordinary Days at the Finborough /Trafalgar Studios; The Opinion Makers at Derby Playhouse; Another Way at the Cockpit; Lift  at the Soho; Sister Act on UK tour; The Hired Man at Leicester Curve; Well Behaved Women  and The Women’s Inspiration Awards at Cadogan Hall; Euro Pride and Night of 1000 Voices at the Royal Albert Hall; Charlotte’s Web at Polka; Let Him Have Justic e at the Cochrane; and Just So and Out of This World  at Chichester Festival.

Television includes Monty & Co , Shakespeare and Hathaway , Doctors , The Sound of Music Live , Otherworld , Barbara , Brainiacs and The Royal Variety Performance .

Film The Amazing Maurice .

November 2021

Holly Atkins

THEATRE includes The Book of Dust – La Belle Sauvage at The Bridge; Romantics at Jermyn Street Theatre; Three Women at the Bloomsbury; Romeo and Juliet and Helen at Shakespeare’s Globe; The Ballad of Crazy Paola at the Arcola; Scarborough at the Royal Court and Edinburgh; Summer Begins at Southwark Playhouse; One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest on national tour.

TELEVISION includes Home ,  King Gary, In the Long Run , This Country, Witless, Call the Midwife, Doctors, Murder on the Home Front, Wallander, Case Sensitive, Holby City, Casualty, Doctors, Criminal Justice, The Sarah Jane Adventures, City Lights, The Bill, On the Run, My Parents Are Aliens, Where the Heart Is, The Groovy Granny Show, The Project, Residents and EastEnders.

FILM includes the short Such Small Hands.

Wendy Mae Brown

Theatre includes To Kill a Mockingbird at Clwyd Theatre Cymru; White Christmas at Curve, Leicester; The Lorax , Kiss Me Kate  (also Chichester) and Carmen Jones at the Old Vic; Ghost, the Musical on Australian tour and in the West End; Rent , Porgy and Bess , Mamma Mia! , and Hey Mr Producer in the West End; Stepping Out on tour; Come Dancing at Theatre Royal Stratford East; King Cotton at West Yorkshire Playhouse; Ain’t Misbehavin’ at Harrogate; Barnum at Eastbourne; and The Wizard of Oz at Leicester Haymarket.

Television  includes Four Weddings and a Funeral (US miniseries), 40 North , Porters ,  Man Down 2 , River , Dark Matters , Doctors and Bitesize Maths and Shakespeare GCSE.

Film includes Hatfields and McCoy , Last Chance Harvey , Blackbeard the Pirate and  The Altogether .

Radio incudes Crossing Continents ,  Aristophanes’ Clouds , and Alice Walker  selected readings.

Recordings incude cast albums of Mamma Mia! , Carmen Jones and Showboat .

Training  Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Theatre includes Mood Music at the Old Vic;  Consent , Platonov , The Seagull (the latter two also at Chichester Festival), The Cherry Orchard , The White Guard , Gethsemane ,  Never So Good , The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other and Present Laughter at the National Theatre; The Dark Earth and the Light Sky at the Almeida; Posh at the Royal Court and West End; Tiger Country at Hampstead; and Joseph K at the Gate.

Television includes Back to Life , The Irregulars , Industry , The Crown , New Worlds ,  Salting the Battlefield , Fleming , Henry IV ,  Neverland , Christopher and His Kind , Lewis ,  John Adams and Party Animals .

Film includes 1917 , Denial , Spectre , The Eagle  and Robin Hood ; and the short films That Syncing Feeling and The Devil’s Wedding .

Radio includes Words and Music , Home Front ,  Framley Parsonage , Buddenbrooks , Julius Caesar , The Mauritius Command ,  The Trenches and Philip and Sydney .

Jack Collard

Training LAMDA.

Theatre includes Monica Lewinsky: This Play is Not About Monica Lewinsky in Edinburgh and New York; Magpies and Mischief for Yada Yada Productions at Jersey Arts Centre; Frontier Trilogy for Sense of Place Theatre at Hens and Chickens; Mr Popper’s Penguins for Pins and Needles at Seattle Children’s Theater; Think of England (UK tour) and Posh for AIAWTC; Jane Eyre at Rosemary Branch; All That Lives at Ovalhouse; An Evening with Mr Wickham at Jane Austen Festival.

Television  includes Intergalactic and Belgravia .

Samuel Creasey

Training  ArtsEd.

Theatre This is his first professional stage appearance.

Television   Inside Man .

Ella Dacres

Training National Youth Theatre Rep Company 2019.

Theatre  includes A Midsummer Night’s Dream , Frankenstein and Great Expectations  for the National Youth Theatre; and Romeo & Juliet at the National Theatre.

Television includes This Is Going To Hurt .

Short film includes Daylight Rules and  Minutes .

Ayesha Dharker

Theatre includes Disconnect , The Djinns of Eidgah and Maryland at the Royal Court;  White Teeth and When the Crows Visit at the Kiln; Richard II at the Sam Wanamaker;  Pericles and The Ramayana at the National Theatre; The Island Nation at the Arcola;  A Midsummer Night’s Dream , Othello and  Arabian Nights for the Royal Shakespeare Company; Dr Faustus at Bristol Old Vic; and  Bombay Dreams in the West End and on Broadway.

Television includes Vera , Finding Alice , Holby City , Indian Summers , Critical , The Indian Doctor , Coronation Street , Doctor Who ,  The Commander , Bodies , Waking the Dead ,  Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee , Cutting It and  Doctors .

Film includes Mad, Sad and Bad , Loins of Punjab Presents , Outsourced , Mistress of Spices , Colour Me Kubrick , Mystic Masseur ,  Anita and Me , Star Wars: Attack of the Clones ,  Arabian Nights , The Terrorist , Split Wide Open Saaz , City of Joy , Manika: Une Vie Plus Tard  and The Father .

Short films   Playback , Hideous Man , Lady Behave and India Belongs to Me .

Naomi Frederick

Theatre includes Agnes Colander , The Mentor  and Hobson’s Choice at Theatre Royal Bath and in the West End; White Teeth at the Kiln;  As You Like It , Much Ado About Nothing and  The Heresy of Love at Shakespeare’s Globe;  Made in Dagenham in the West End; Brief Encounter for Kneehigh at Birmingham Rep, West Yorkshire Playhouse and in the West End; Emil and the Detectives , Mrs Affleck ,  Henry IV , The Mandate , and Complicité’s  Measure for Measure at the National Theatre; The Winslow Boy at the Old Vic;  As You Like It and The Tamer Tamed for the Royal Shakespeare Company; Three Sisters  for Theatre Royal Bath and on tour; and  Time and the Conways at Manchester Royal Exchange.

Television includes Belgravia , EastEnders ,  Inspector George Gently , Virtuoso , Casualty ,  My Family , Doctors , On Expenses , Holby City ,  The Trial of Tony Blair , ER ‘Chaos Theory’ ,  Fields of Gold , Foyle’s War , and The Inspector Lynley Mysteries .

Film includes Father Christmas is Back ,  The Aftermath and The Children Act .

Richard James-Neale

Training Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.

Theatre includes King Lear for US tour; Wings  at the Young Vic; The Taming of the Shrew ,  Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Drea m at Shakespeare’s Globe; Othello for Frantic Assembly; Emil and the Detectives at the National Theatre; Watership Down at the Watermill Newbury; Peter Pan at Regent’s Park; Charlotte’s Web for Birmingham Stage Company; Pygmalion at the Old Vic;  A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Tooting Arts Club; Romeo and Juliet for Pilot; A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Comedy of Errors at Ludlow Festival; and the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Television  includes Thanks for the Memories ,  Atlantis , and The Insiders .

Film includes The Batman , The Legend of Tarzan and Dragon .

Olivia Le Andersen

Theatre  This is her first professional stage appearance.

Film  includes Jonny English Strikes Again and The King of Thieves .

Theatre includes The Son at the Kiln and in the West End; Mary Stuart at the Almeida and in the West End; Taken at Midnight (Olivier nominated) at Chichester and in the West End; The Winter’s Tale , A Midsummer Night’s Dream , A New World: The Life of Thomas Paine at Shakespeare’s Globe; Three Days in the Country and The Night Season at the National Theatre; The Giant , The Blackest Black and My Boy Jack at Hampstead;  Julius Caesar at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre; Thom Pain (Based on Nothing) at The Print Room; Luise Miller at the Donmar Warehouse; Carmen Destruction , The Master Builder , Certain Young Men and The Tower  at the Almeida; Apologia and Clocks and Whistles at the Bush; Hedda Gabler at the Gate, Dublin; and Julius Caesar , The Tempest ,  The Seagull , In the Company of Men and A Patriot for Me for the RSC.

Television  includes Murder in Provence ,  Around the World in Eighty Days , Mars ,  Maigret , Father Brown , Silk , Endeavour ,  Dresden , North and South , Cambridge Spies ,  Band of Brothers , Love in a Cold Climate ,  Aristocrats , The Unknown Soldier and  Holding On .

Film  includes Albert Nobbs , Scoop , Partition ,  Heights , The Lion in Winter , Benedict Arnold ,  The Ascension , 5 Seconds to Spare , DK2 ,  Trance , Purpose , Investigating Sex and A Rather English Marriage .

Dearbhla Molloy

Theatre includes, most recently, Uncle Vanya  in the West End; The Ferryman at the Royal Court, in the West End and on Broadway; In Celebration in the West End; Juno and the Paycock at the Donmar Warehouse and in New York; The Hostage , The Shadow of a Gunman and Lovegirl and the Innocent for the Royal Shakespeare Company; Afterplay  and Give Me Your Hand for Irish Repertory Theatre, NYC; The Cripple of Inishmaan (also NYC and on tour), Hinterland (Out of Joint/ AbbeyTheatre) and On the Ledge at the National Theatre; A Touch of the Poet and  Outside Mullingar on Broadway; The Plough and the Stars at the Young Vic; Summerfolk  and Saturday Sunday Monday at Chichester;  Trojan Women at the Gate Notting Hill; And No More Shall We Part at Hampstead; and  Doubt at the Tricycle. Also Moment at Studio, Washington; and Much Ado About Nothing at the Guthrie, Minneapolis.

Awards She was nominated for an Olivier for The Ferryman ; received Drama Desk and London Critics’ Awards for Best Supporting Actress for Juno and the Paycock (RSC); Drama Desk and Irish Film & Theatre Awards for Best Supporting Actress for The Cripple of Inishmaan (NT, New York and US & Ireland tours); Tony nomination and Drama Desk and Theatre World Special Awards for Dancing at Lughnasa (Abbey Theatre/New York); and Irish Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actress for A Life (Abbey Theatre/Old Vic). She also received a Grammy nomination and the US Audie Award for Best Female Solo Narration for My Dream of You .

Television includes Hellraisers , Three Families , Uncle Vanya , Women on the Verge ,  Acceptable Risk , Scandal , Family Tree , Quirke ,  Casualty , Coronation Street , Midsomer Murders , Foyle’s War , Waking the Dead , New Tricks , 55 Degrees North , Stan , A Touch of Frost , Sex in the City , The Fragile Heart and  GBH .

Film includes Uncle Vanya , Wild Mountain Thyme , 3096 , The Damned United , Tara Road , The Blackwater Lightship , Home for Christmas , Bloom , Frankie Starlight , Run of the Country , No Reservations , Loaded and  This is the Sea .

Dearbhla Molloy is an Associate Artist of the Abbey Theatre, National Theatre of Ireland.

Tomi Ogbaro

Training Rose Bruford College.

Theatre includes Michael at the Almeida; An Act of Care at HOME, Manchester; Seagulls  at Bolton Octagon; A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Regent’s Park Open Air; The Collection for Tristan Bernays; and Sweet Charity at the Watermill, Newbury.

Yves Rassou

This is her professional debut.

Theatre includes Julius Caesar at The Bridge; The Invisible Hand and White Teeth  at the Kiln; The Starry Messenger in the West End; Hang at Sheffield Crucible; Queen Anne for the RSC in the West End; The Tempest , Cymbeline , The Oresteia , Eternal Love (ETT), and The Taming of the Shrew  at Shakespeare’s Globe; Treasure at the Finborough; The History Boys on UK tour;  True Brits for HighTide at the Bush; and  Orpheus and Eurydice for the National Youth Theatre.

Television  includes Slow Horses , The Capture , Anatomy of a Scandal , A Discovery of Witches , Trying , Unprecedented: Going Forward , Silent Witness , Wild Bill , Press ,  Strike: Career of Evil , EastEnders , The Hollow Crown and The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies .

Film includes The Batman , Cruella , Belfast ,  Death on the Nile , Artemis Fowl , Dolittle ,  Ready Player One and Murder on the Orient Express .

Radio includes The Certificate , Dangerous Liaisons , Patient 13 , This is Your Country Now Too: Vijay and Ecco .

Nick Sampson

Theatre includes Julius Caesar at The Bridge;  Plenty and Ross at Chichester Festival;  Antony and Cleopatra , Great Britain , Othello ,  The Captain of Köpenick , Timon of Athens ,  Collaborators , Hamlet , London Assurance ,  His Dark Materials , Cyrano de Bergerac , Stuff Happens , Henry V , Tartuffe , The Coast of Utopia , The Relapse , The Winter’s Tale and  The Madness of George III at the National Theatre; North by North West at Bath; The Moderate Soprano at Hampstead; The Gathered Leaves at the Park; As You Like It  and Candlelight at Watford Palace; Bloody Sunday – Scenes from the Saville Inquiry at the Tricycle; and Romance and King Charles III at the Almeida.

Television includes The Sister Boniface Mysteries , Belgravia , Catastrophe , Doc Martin , Genius , Witness for the Prosecution ,  Apple Tree Yard , Endeavour , Home Fires ,  Capital , Downton Abbey Christmas Special ,  We’ll Take Manhattan , Silk , Henry: The Mind of a Tyrant , EastEnders , Monday Monday ,  Honest , The Commander , Whistleblowers ,  Afterlife , Bradford Riots , Britz , Diamond Geezer II , Hustle , Inspector Lynley Mysteries ,  Party Animals , This Life – 10 Years On , Trial & Retribution , Tales of the South Seas, Brittas Empire and Cold Lazarus .

Film includes Lost City of Z , The Mercy , Our Kind of Traitor , An Education , Siam Sunset  and The Madness of King George .

Radio includes The Corrupted , Ebb Tide ,  House on Fire and Kind Hearts and Coronets .

Training  LAMDA.

Theatre includes Rescuing One’s Sister in the Wind and Dust at the Almeida (staged reading).

Television includes Holding and Halo .

Film includes Touchdown and Tomb Raider .

Creative Team

Philip pullman.

Books include The Sally Lockhart Quartet: The Ruby in the Smoke , The Shadow in the North , The Tiger in the Well and The Tin Princess (also seen on TV); The Scarecrow   and His Servant ; Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp ; The Adventures of the New Cut Gang  (Thunderbolt’s Waxwork and The Gasfitters’ Ball); Grimm Tales for Young and Old ; and The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ ; as well as His Dark Materials (comprising  Northern Lights , The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass ); and The Book of Dust , of which La Belle Sauvage is the first part and  The Secret Commonwealth the second.  Lyra’s Oxford and Serpentine are also set in Lyra’s world.

His Dark Materials was staged in two parts at the National Theatre in 2003–04; the television version was broadcast from 2019.

Bryony Lavery

Bryony Lavery’s play Frozen won the TMA Best Play Award and the Eileen Anderson Central Television award. It played at Birmingham Rep, the National Theatre, on Broadway (where it was nominated for four Tony awards), and in the West End.  Stockholm , for Frantic Assembly, won the Wolff-Whiting Award for Best Play of 2008.  Beautiful Burnout , for National Theatre of Scotland/Frantic Assembly, received a Fringe First at Edinburgh.

Other theatre writing credits include The Lovely Bones for Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, Birmingham Rep, Northern Stage and Royal & Derngate Northampton; The Midnight Gang for Chichester Festival; and  Balls for Stages Houston/ 59E59 NYC.

She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, an honorary doctor of Arts at De Montfort University and an Associate Artist at Birmingham Repertory Theatre.

Nicholas Hytner

Emily burns.

Theatre Emily Burns is Resident Director at the National Theatre. Her work includes  The Comeback at the Noël Coward and working as associate director to Nicholas Hytner, Simon Godwin and Rufus Norris, as well as working with comedy duo The Pin , soprano Heloise Werner, the James Cousins Company and the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC.

Film She adapted and associate directed the National Theatre production of Romeo and Juliet for film, which was broadcast on PBS and Sky Arts in 2021.

James Cousins

Bob crowley, barnaby dixon.

Barnaby Dixon started work as a stop-motion film-maker but soon started designing innovative, live action puppets. In 2015 he began writing and producing short puppet films for YouTube, where he quickly gained a large following. He has collaborated with JJ Abrams’ company Bad Robot and also with The Henson Company.

La Belle Sauvage is the stage debut of his puppetry technique.

Theatre includes My Name Is Lucy Barton  (also on Broadway), Alys Always , Talking Heads and A Christmas Carol at The Bridge;  The Lehman Trilogy at the National Theatre (also West End and Broadway); Everyone’s Talking About Jamie , The Moderate Soprano  and Frozen in the West End; 2071, The Nether  (also West End), Linda and Girls & Boys at the Royal Court; Miss Saigon in Japan, New York and UK tour; Man and Superman , Ugly Lies the Bone , and The Great Wave at the National Theatre; Desire Under the Elms at Sheffield Crucible; Elegy for Young Lovers at Theatr an der Wien; Oil at the Almeida; Half a Sixpence  at Chichester; Mary Poppins on tour;  Hamlet and The Master and Margarita at the Barbican; and I Can’t Sing at the Palladium.

Opera  includes The Cunning Little Vixen ,  Don Giovanni and Król Roger at ROH; The Cunning Little Vixen , Don Giovanni and Der Freischütz for Danish Royal Opera; Otello  for Metropolitan Opera, New York; Zeitgest  at the Coliseum; Das Liebesverbot at Teatro Real, Madrid; The Flying Dutchman for Finland National Opera; West Side Story at Malmo Opera (2020 Drama Desk Award);  Don Giovanni for Barcelona Opera; Marco Polo for Guangzhou Opera House; Carmen  for Bregenzer Festspiele; and next year Don Giovanni at Houston Grand Opera; and Porgy and Bess at National Opera, Amsterdam.

Ballet includes Malgorzata Dzierzon for Ballet Rambert; and Connectome for the Royal Ballet.

Other work includes projections for Adele, Rihanna, Paris Fashion Week, Robbie Williams, Pet Shop Boys, The Sessions, The Band, Olympic and Paralympic 2012 closing ceremonies, ‘Concert for Diana’ at Wembley Stadium, George Michael, the Rolling Stones, Genesis, Darren Hayes, Elton John, U2, Muse, and Nitin Sawhney.

Awards Knight of Illumination awards for 2014, 2015 and 2016; BAFTA for The Cube.

Theatre includes, for The Bridge: A Christmas Carol , Beat the Devil , Talking Heads , A German Life and Alys, Always . For the National Theatre: The Manor ,  Anna , The Lehman Trilogy (also West End and Broadway), I’m Not Running , Absolute Hell , Amadeus , As You Like It , The Beaux’ Stratagem , Othello , The Effect , Collaborators ,  A Woman Killed with Kindness , Hamlet ,  Greenland , Pains of Youth , Our Class , Damned by Despair, Women of Troy , The Cat in the Hat ,  Beauty & the Beast and Hansel and Gretel . For the RSC: Hamlet , The Tempest , The Comedy of Errors , Twelfth Night , The Merchant of Venice , The Homecoming , The Winter’s Tale and King Lear (also in New York). In the West End The Shark is Broken ,  Cyrano de Bergerac , The Inheritance , The Jungle , Betrayal , Pinter at the Pinter season,  Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Doctor Faustus ,  King Charles III (also Broadway), The Commitments and The Ruling Class . For the Young Vic: Tree , The Jungle , The Inheritance  (also New York and San Francisco), The Life of Galileo , and A Streetcar Named Desire . For the Almeida: Richard III and King Charles III . For the Donmar Warehouse Limehouse ,  Trelawny of the Wells and Moonlight . For the Old Vic: The Lorax (also Toronto, Minneapolis and San Diego). Other theatre includes Evita  and Into the Woods at Regent’s Park; Salome  for Headlong; and Water and Silence  for Filter.

Opera includes Orpheus and Eurydice for ENO; Lucia di Lammermoor for Greek National Opera and ROH; The Turn of the Screw for Regent’s Park and ENO; The Exterminating Angel for The Metropolitan Opera (also ROH, Salzburg Festival, Royal Danish Opera); L’Étoile , Król Roger (also Opera Australia; Green Room Award for Best Lighting Design), and Written on Skin (also Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Lincoln Center NY, Bolshoi Moscow, Paris, Amsterdam, Vienna, Toulouse) for the Royal Opera House; Hamlet at Glyndebourne (also Adelaide Festival); The Turn of the Screw (at Open Air Theatre); La Bohème (also DNO), Wozzeck, Caligula and The Return of Ulysses  (at the Young Vic) for ENO; and The Perfect American for Teatro Real, Madrid (also ENO).

Dance  includes The Cellist for the Royal Ballet, plus new work with Wayne McGregor, Cathy Marston, Will Tuckett, Karole Armitage, Bern Ballet and Scottish Dance Theatre.

Awards  Olivier Award for The Inheritance , Knight of Illumination for Three Days of Rain  and Green Room Australia for Król Roger .

Paul Arditti

Grant olding.

Theatre includes, at The Bridge, A Christmas Carol , A Midsummer Night’s Dream , Two Ladies , Alys, Always and Young Marx . At Chichester The Country Wife , Canvas , and  Wallenstein . For the RSC at Stratford and in the West End: Don Quixote , The Fantastic Follies of Mrs Rich , The Hypocrite , The Rover , and Oppenheimer . At the National Theatre:  Saint George and The Dragon , A Small Family Business, Great Britain (also West End),  Timon of Athens , One Man, Two Guvnors (also West End, Broadway and international tour; Tony Award nominee and winner of Drama Desk Award for Best Score), Travelling Light ,  England People Very Nice , The Man of Mode ,  The Alchemist and Southwark Fair . Also work for Leicester Curve, Sheffield Crucible, Birmingham Rep, the New Vic, Stoke, the Mercury Colchester, Birmingham Stage, West Yorkshire Playhouse, the Watermill Newbury, Royal & Derngate Northampton, and for Changeling Theatre. In London: Bartholomew Fair , Broken Glass  for the Tricycle (also West End).

Musicals include Drunk for Leicester Curve and Bridewell; Tracy Beaker Gets Real for Nottingham Playhouse and UK tour; Simply Cinderella for Leicester Curve; The Beggars Musical for Changeling and tour; Spittin’ Distance for Stephen Joseph and National Theatre Studio; and Three Sides for the Bridewell, Finborough and 45th Street Theatre, NY.

Dance includes Merlin for Northern Ballet and Jekyll & Hyde at the Old Vic.

Film & television include Moley , The North Water , Digging for Britain , A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong , Saving Santa , Upstart Crow , The Pact, I Want My Wife Back , Marley’s Ghosts ,  The Bleak Old Shop of Stuff , Monsters Behind the Iron Curtain , Arena: National Theatre On Stage and Theatreland .

Kate Waters

Theatre includes A Midsummer Night’s Dream , Young Marx and Julius Caesar at The Bridge; The Tragedy of Macbeth at the Almeida; Small Island , Salome , The Plough and the Stars , Othello , As You Like It , Our Country’s Good , Rules For Living , Hotel , The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time  (also West End), The Comedy of Errors , One Man, Two Guvnors (also West End, Broadway & world tour), Frankenstein , Season’s Greetings , Hamlet , Women Beware Women  and War Horse (also West End) for the National Theatre.

Other stage work includes Venice Preserved ,  Romeo and Juliet , Macbeth , Two Noble Kinsmen , Hamlet , Titus Andronicus , King Lear , Love’s Sacrifice and Dr Faustus for the Royal Shakespeare Company; Get Up Stand Up , The Windsors: Endgame , Sweat ,  The Lieutenant of Innishmore , Tina – The Musical , King Lear , Noises Off , Hand to God  and From Here to Eternity in the West End;  King Lear and Black Comedy at Chichester Festival Theatre; The Last Goodbye at The Old Globe, San Diego, California; Cyrano de Bergerac , The Maids , Macbeth , Richard III ,  East Is East , The Ruling Class , The Hothouse , and The Pride for Jamie Lloyd Company; The Merchant of Venice , Antony and Cleopatra , Dr Faustus and Henry V at Shakespeare’s Globe;  Liberian Girl at the Royal Court; Urinetown The Musical at St James Theatre and West End; Don Giovanni at the ROH; Henry IV and  Julius Caesar at the Donmar Warehouse and St Ann’s Warehouse NYC; Noises Off (and West End); The Duchess of Malfi and Sweet Bird of Youth at the Old Vic; Evita , Jesus Christ Superstar , Peter Pan , Seven Brides For Seven Brothers , A Midsummer Night’s Dream ,  Porgy and Bess and Lord of the Flies at Regent’s Park; Disgraced at the Bush; Bugsy Malone , Saved , Blasted and Herons at the Lyric, Hammersmith; and many productions for major regional theatres.

Television includes My Policeman and regular fight direction on Coronation Street , Emmerdale and Hollyoaks . She also choreographed the fights for  Coronation Street Live 2015.

Filipe J. Carvalho

Theatre includes Back to the Future – The Musical in the West End; The Legend of Sleepy Hollow UK tour; and Secret Theatre’s Redemption Room . He was also Magic Consultant for the immersive live  Stranger Things , created by Secret Cinema; Experience Consultant for Marvel Avengers Station ; Magic Associate for Disneyland Paris’ new theatrical show Mickey & The Magician ; and works with other magicians to help with their existing routines or create new illusions.

Robert Sterne

Glenn holberton.

Glenn Holberton is a BAFTA-nominated animation and puppetry producer. He worked with Spitting Image for five years in the 1990s and has produced film and TV content for the BBC, Channel 4, Universal, Viacom and the BFI. Animated films that he produced have won prizes at film festivals in San Francisco, Shanghai, Ottawa, Oberhausen, Annecy, London and Chicago, and have beennominated for the Cartoon d’Or and an Oscar.

Zakk Hein is a video designer for live performance and installation.

Theatre includes A Christmas Carol (codesign with Luke Halls) at The Bridge; The Incident Room and Secret Life of Humans  for New Diorama; The Writer at the Almeida;  Occupational Hazards at Hampstead; The Effect , Looking Through Glass and The Mountaintop at The Other Room; and A Good Clean Heart at Wales Millennium Centre/tour.

Opera includes La Traviata at Wiener Staatsoper and Paris Opera; Ariodante at the Royal College of Music; and Tales of Hoffmann and Pelléas et Mélisande for English Touring Opera.

As Associate: Talking Heads , Alys, Always  and My Name is Lucy Barton at The Bridge;  Den Glade Enke 2.0 and Hobbitten for KGL, Copenhagen; Michael Kohlhaas for Schaubühne, Berlin; The Lehman Trilogy (also West End and Broadway), The Great Wave and Ugly Lies the Bone at the National Theatre; The Band in Berlin/West End and tour; Local Hero in Edinburgh; Shipwreck  at the Almeida; Belle Erobreren at Ostre Gasvaerk Teater; Girls and Boys at the Royal Court and in New York; and Desire Under the Elms in Sheffield.

He is an Associate at Luke Halls Studio.

Helen Johnson

Training  includes the University of Bristol and the BBC.

Theatre & opera She has worked at the Royal Opera House, National Theatre, English National Ballet and English National Opera. Recent work includes Lyssa at the ROH;  Under Milk Wood , Follies (Olivier Award for Costume), The Hard Problem and London Road at the National Theatre; Sing Street  for New York Theatre Workshop; The Snow Queen for Tivoli Ballet and HRH Queen Margrethe of Denmark; The Inheritance  at the Young Vic and on Broadway (Tony nomination for best costumes); Song of the Earth/La Sylphide and Giselle for ENB;  Wozzeck for Lyric Opera Chicago; Chroma for Danish Royal Ballet; Infra for Polish National Ballet; We’re Here Because We’re Here for 14–18 Now; The Haunting Of Hill House at the Everyman Liverpool; Sinatra at the London Palladium; Between World s for ENO; Cosí Fan Tutte for ENO/Metropolitan Opera; Die Frau Ohne Schatten at ROH; The Same Deep Water as Me at the Donmar Warehouse; The Steadfast Tin Soldier and Nutcracker for Tivoli Ballet Copenhagen; Written on Skin for Festival d’Aix en Provence/ROH; The Yellow Wallpaper at the Schaubühne Berlin; Carmen  for Salzburg Opera Festival; and Onegin for ENO/Metropolitan Opera.

Anna Lewis is a Costume Supervisor and Performance Designer. She was Lead Costume Supervisor for We’re Here Because We’re Here , a national art project created by Turner Prize-winner Jeremy Deller and National Theatre Director Rufus Norris, which involved supervising over 2,000 First World War costumes in 27 venues across the country. Most recently she supervised  Wuthering Heights for Wise Children, designed by Vicki Mortimer, at Bristol Old Vic, which will tour the UK, including at the National Theatre. She assistant supervised English National Ballet’s Cinderella at the Royal Albert Hall, The Snow Queen for Tivoli Ballet in Copenhagen, designed by Queen Margrethe II, and The Inheritance , designed by Bob Crowley.

As a designer her work has been nominated for Off West Awards for Best Set ( Anna Bella Eema at the Arcola) and Costume ( After October at the Finborough); and Life According to Saki , which she designed for Atticist, won the Best of Edinburgh Award and transferred to the 4th Street Theatre Off Broadway. She was an inaugural recipient of the MGCFutures Bursary and has worked in a wide variety of venues in the UK and internationally.

Lily Mollgaard

Current productions include My Neighbour Totoro for the RSC; The Car Man at the Royal Albert Hall; The Southbury Child, John Gabriel Borkman, Straight Line Crazy and Guys and Dolls at The Bridge Theatre; Sleeping Beauty for Matthew Bourne’s UK tour; Peaky Blinders for Rambert’s UK Tour and Tammy Faye Musical at The Almeida.

In the last twenty years Lily Mollgaard has worked on over 270 shows in the West End, on Broadway and beyond. She spent 10 years running the props department at Shakespeare’s Globe and 15 years as Prop Supervisor for Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures which included The Car Man , Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and The Red Shoes .

THEATRE includes A Number, Beat The Devil, Talking Heads, Bach and Sons, The Book of Dust – La Belle Sauvage, Julius Caesar, Night Fall and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at The Bridge; Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre; Jesus Christ Superstar for UK tour and Broadway; Sunset Boulevard and Bombay Dreams at the Apollo Victoria Theatre and on Broadway; Joseph and Made in Dagenham at the Adelphi Theatre; The Producers, Oliver! and Shrek at Theatre Royal Drury Lane; Miss Saigon at the Prince Edward Theatre; Spamalot at the Playhouse Theatre; Sister Act at the London Palladium; Hairspray at the Shaftsbury Theatre; School of Rock at the Gillian Lynne Theatre; The Wild Duck at the Almeida; Company at the Gielgud Theatre; The Pinter Season (One, Two, Five and Six) at the Harold Pinter Theatre for the Jamie Lloyd Company; Red Shoes, Nutcracker and Midnight Bell for Matthew Bourne; Evita at Regent’s Park; Blithe Spirit at Theatre Royal Bath; Cyrano de Bergerac for the Jamie Lloyd Company; Leopoldstadt for Sonia Friedman Productions; Prince of Egypt at the Dominion Theatre and 9 to 5 at the Savoy Theatre.

August 2022

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National Theatre Live: The Book of Dust - La Belle Sauvage

Two young people and their dæmons, with everything at stake, find themselves at the centre of a terrifying manhunt. In their care is a tiny child called Lyra Belacqua, and in that child lies... Read all Two young people and their dæmons, with everything at stake, find themselves at the centre of a terrifying manhunt. In their care is a tiny child called Lyra Belacqua, and in that child lies the fate of the future. And as the waters rise around them, powerful adversaries conspire... Read all Two young people and their dæmons, with everything at stake, find themselves at the centre of a terrifying manhunt. In their care is a tiny child called Lyra Belacqua, and in that child lies the fate of the future. And as the waters rise around them, powerful adversaries conspire for mastery of Dust: salvation to some, the source of infinite corruption to others.

• Nicholas Hytner
• Emily Burns
• James Cousins
• Bryony Lavery
• Philip Pullman
• Julie Atherton
• Holly Atkins
• Wendy Mae Brown
• 1 User review

Top cast 17

• Mrs. Polstead …
• Mother Superior …
• Gerard Bonneville

• Malcolm Polstead
• Alice Parslow

• Marisa Coulter

• Dr. Hannah Relf

• Asta (Malcolm's dæmon)

• Sister Fenella …

• Robert Luckhurst …
• Lord Nugent …

• Ben (Alice's dæmon) …
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• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• TheLittleSongbird
• May 24, 2023
• February 17, 2022 (United Kingdom)
• United Kingdom
• Homepage for National Theatre Live: The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage
• Official synopsis from National Theater
• ナショナル・シアター・ライブ「ブック・オブ・ダスト美しき野生」
• Bridge Theatre, London, England, UK
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

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REVIEW: The Book of Dust, Bridge Theatre London ✭✭✭✭

Published on

December 8, 2021

libbypurves

Our theatreCat Libby Purves reviews The Book of Dust now playing at The Bridge Theatre, London where they are pulling out the stops for Pullman.

Sky Young (Ben), Ella Dacres (Alice), Samuel Creasey (Malcolm) and Helen Forster (Asta). Photo: Manuel Harlan The Book of Dust

The Bridge Theatre

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First things first: this is the most wonderfully evocative, romantic and dramatic bit of set-projection you will see all year. Bob Crowley, video maestros Luke Halls and Zak Hein, Jon Clark on lighting, take a collective bow.  They write with light. So on a rippling river sweet-flowing or tempestuous, through a branchy,  steepled and Prioried Oxfordshire, two children pilot a birchbark canoe on a desperate mission to save a baby.  And we believe.  Ashore, cobbles or grassland, a college quadrangle and the Trout pub at Godstow effortlessly rise around them.

It is, ironically, more of a staging coup than all the rather annoying lit-up chatty "daemons" which express each characters'  essential Id in the hands of scampering puppeteers. Though I do very much like the worst villain's hyaena, with its papery head and nervous laugh.

Ella Dacres (Alice), Pip Carter (Gerard) and Julie Atherton (Hyena). Photo: Manuel Harlan

For this is Philip Pullman's fantasy parallel world again:  after the triumphant Dark Materials trilogy a few years back at the NT, Nicholas Hytner (and ace adaptor Bryony Lavery) have got their hands on the first bit of the  "prequel" story of the heroine Lyra's birth. The dread Magisterium - a sort of 15c Catholic police state, familiar from Pullman's rather dated paranoia about organized religion in the later episodes - wants to destroy her.

You might, in a woefully uncharitable spirit, wonder why a writer so repeatedly and  Dawkinsly passionate against Christianity's stories would write a fable about - er - a sacred baby who according to a "prophecy" is born to save the world from cruelty, and who is pursued by Herodish authority and spies. And wonder also why a writer who inveighs against CS Lewis' Narnia would populate his river with similar old gods and witches, and give everyone a talking animal as a daemon. Even if he does add woo-woo scientific stuff about matter having consciousness and a scholarly divining device called an alethiometer (Lewis had mere old-fashioned wands etc, clearly not hanging out with as many physicists and cell biologists as his humanist Oxford heir).

Heather Forster )Asta), Samuel Creasey (Malcolm) and Ella Dacres (Alice). Photo: Manuel Harlan

But never mind all that. It's a kids' book, a love song to Oxfordshire and a grand bit of storytelling in this skillful, fast-moving and visually beautiful production     Its hero is a young find too: Samuel Creasey, on his first professional show, leads with charming, stolidly nerdy brio as Malcolm, the pub landlady's 12-year-old son and potboy, full of heart and adolescent decency, drawn into a dangerous world as the icy grip of totalitarian prelates intensifies. Ella Dacres' Alice is great too: shoutily fifteen, angry and contemptuous of Malcolm until in the timeworn tradition of older children's books they become friends in adversity.

It's lovely casting, and as chief enemy and sanctimonious preacher Ayesha Darker also does a fine spike-heeled,smart-suited nightmare CEO-lady; Pip Carter is a villainous villain, with all the unsettling sadistic sexual menace Mr Pullman likes to add.  Dearbhla Molloy as a kindly nun, and later an equally Irish Doris in a rebel camp, effortlessly steals every scene she is in.

Wendy Mae Brown (Scholar Muriel), Samuel Creasey (Malcolm) and Derbhla Molloy (Scholar Rosemary). Photo: Mauel Harlan

So did the first-night baby, who while sometimes prudently replaced by a dummy and sound effect is often on,  smiley and self-possessed and drawing aaahhhs and sighs from the audience which palpably hopes for another look. Even when supposed to be paying attention to mad stuff about the consciousness of matter, dons upset about research funding,  or who's got the missing alethiometer.

So Hytner and the brave Bridge have thrown genius at it, a big show in an edgy time, and as there are two more episodes to come Mr. Pullman would do well to confide them to this crack team of interpreters. Because (how did you guess?) I found the books far less than gripping, never could finish one for mere irritation at not buying into the fantasy, but I rather enjoyed the show. Result.

Until 26 February

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'The Book of Dust - La Belle Sauvage' review — Phillip Pullman's tricky prequel struggles to find magic

Almost 20 years ago, Nicholas Hytner brought Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy to the stage in a memorable two-part production at the National Theatre . So, it's easy to understand the thinking behind this adaptation of Pullman's latest addition to the series at Hytner's new home — the Bridge Theatre . Unfortunately, it falls short of conjuring that same magic.

In fairness to Hytner, and to adaptor Bryony Lavery, La Belle Sauvage is a tricky proposition. It's a prequel to His Dark Materials , but the next instalment of Pullman's new Book of Dust trilogy, The Secret Commonwealth , is a sequel instead, and the third volume has yet to appear. That makes this particular work more of a filler chapter, adding in backstory to an existing tale rather than offering a complete and autonomous one. 

Of course, part of the fun for avid Pullman fans is spying the elements that will later become significant, primarily our future protagonist Lyra Belacqua, here just a baby, but also her parents, Lord Asriel and Mrs Coulter, the growing power of religious faction the Magisterium, the all-important prophecy, the research into Dust, and the alethiometer.

However, it also invites comparisons, and here the show suffers. We don't have a lead character as vivid as Lyra, nor armoured bears or hot-air balloons, witches (other than a brief glimpse) or windows to another world. Much of the wonder of Pullman's creation, including some of the more mysterious and mystical aspects of La Belle Sauvage , is absent, and the philosophical debate is muted. Lavery's dialogue is all exposition, though she does add some welcome wit.

It makes for an engaging enough adventure yarn - necessarily episodic, as is the novel, but sleekly presented. Our genial guide is 12-year-old Malcolm Polstead, who works in his mum's pub but has academic inclinations. Samuel Creasey makes a very promising debut in the role. He's a dead ringer for James Corden, with a similar cheeky charm, comic assurance, earnest determination, and tendency to overplay; there's rather too much shouting and swallowing his lines. But his thawing relationship with prickly, traumatised teenager Alice (a fierce Ella Dacres) anchors the show nicely.

The young pair come to the rescue of baby Lyra when her enemies descend on her during a terrible flood, and embark on a dangerous journey in Malcolm's canoe. The design solution to staging a boat chase is elegant and evocative, thanks to Bob Crowley's screens which blaze into life with Luke Halls's video and give artistic dimension to each location - particularly the priory and the inky-black river with its swirling depths. Alas, the daemons aren't as well realised: they're represented by insubstantial, papery puppets that lack impact.

But Lyra is played by both a puppet and a real baby - the latter an absolute show-stealer. It's the most placid infant imaginable, happy to be passed around the cast, wiggling her feet as Malcolm comments on them, and touching his face with affection. In fact, they need the puppet version for the scenes where Lyra cries, because this is the most Zen baby known to man.

Ayesha Dharker is a stylishly monstrous Mrs Coulter, although her big dilemma is only just hinted at here, John Light is an imperious, man-bun-sporting Asriel, and Dearbhla Molloy and Wendy Mae Brown are excellent as the wily nuns. Pip Carter supplies real menace as the brilliant but unhinged Gerard Bonneville, who has all the silky charm of the cunning predator.

However, I'm not quite sure of the target audience here. It's too simplistic as adult drama but far too scary for small children - there's violence, sudden gun shots, stories of child abuse and attempted rape. As a Christmas show, it's a puzzling choice, particularly given the author's anti-religious sentiments, and it doesn't really justify its transfer to this new medium. But it should certainly satisfy the Pullman faithful until the next of his books hits our shelves.

The Book of Dust - La Belle Sauvage is at the Bridge Theatre. Book The Book of Dust - La Belle Sauvage tickets on London Theatre.

Photo credit: The Book of Dust (Photo by Manuel Harlan)

Originally published on Jan 25, 2022 20:14

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The Book of Dust – La Belle Sauvage

Booking and details.

In the care of two young people, is a tiny child called Lyra Belacqua, and in that child lies the fate of the future. And as the waters rise around them, powerful adversaries conspire for mastery of Dust: salvation to some, the source of infinite corruption to others.

Eighteen years after his ground breaking production of His Dark Materials at the National Theatre, director Nicholas Hytner returns to Phillip Pullman ’s parallel universe.

Originally broadcast live from London’s Bridge Theatre.

Review: THE BOOK OF DUST - LA BELLE SAUVAGE, Bridge Theatre

His Dark Materials' heroine, Lyra Belacqua , gets her origin story

The boy is Malcolm, bright and resourceful, played with wit and charm on professional debut by Samuel Creasey, who has more than a touch of History Boys era James Corden in him. He does a lot of the heavy lifting early on, as slabs of exposition establish what is surely known by most of the audience - such is, I suppose, unavoidable.

But we're soon into the story proper, as he encounters the mysterious and threatening Mrs Coulter ( Ayesha Dharker just about avoiding the evil stepmother template), the dashing Lord Asriel ( John Light ) and the good-hearted nuns who passively resist the quasi-fascist Magisterium with its secret police and atavistic fear of a prophecy.

Lyra Belacqua lies at the heart of that prophesy and, if it is to be believed, also lies at the heart of the future of the planet itself, and, though just a baby (sometimes a real, very beautiful one, too), is enough of a threat to warrant a ruthless pursuit by the Magisterium's agents. But Malcolm and the equally bright and resourceful teen, Alice ( Ella Dacres , all down to earth nous) shelter the child and, eventually, bring her to a safe place.

There lies the major flaw with Bryony Lavery 's adaptation. Pullman may well refer to his 2017 book as an 'equel' rather than a prequel, but it's actually an example of a growing genre - the origin story. For all the tension built up as our heroes battle with floods, scientists of dubious morality and paramilitary gunmen, we know that Lyra makes it because, 12 years later, she's on her way to fulfilling the prophesy. As with all origin stories, where there should be heartstopping jeopardy, there's merely a shrug of the shoulders.

Inevitably, Malcolm and Alice progress from bickering kids something approaching a fumbling first romance, though the fact that we can see that both actors are in their 20s undermines that somewhat hackneyed subplot. Far more interesting is their interplay with dæmons, beautifully realised by Barnaby Dixon as lit up paper puppets that the actors animate and which present each character's true soul for others to see, if not understand. Initially, they feel intrusive, but we soon notice them only when director, Nicholas Hytner , wants us to see them and are all the more powerful for it.

Video also plays a big role in the otherness of Malcolm's environment, Luke Halls ' projections creating a watery, dark and dangerous Oxford one moment, and a cold, Dickensian orphanage the next. As with the dæmons, it would be easy to overdo their impact, but they complement rather than overpower the story.

At two and a half hours, that story is stretched too thin to engage us as fully as we ought to be, the religious hokum and philosophical asides also muddying what is a fairly straightforward quest tale. For those (and there will be plenty) brought up on Star Wars and The Lord Of The Rings , that might be enough, but, as was the case for me when I read the original trilogy, the bells and whistles couldn't compensate for a plot that held too few surprises.

The Book Of Dust - La Belle Sauvage is at the Bridge Theatre until 26 February

Photo Manuel Harlan

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THE BOOK OF DUST (National Theatre Live)

Set twelve years before the epic His Dark Materials trilogy, this gripping adaptation revisits Philip Pullman’s fantastical world in which waters are rising and storms are brewing.  

Set twelve years before the epic His Dark Materials trilogy, this gripping adaptation revisits Philip Pullman’s fantastical world in which waters are rising and storms are brewing.

Two young people and their dæmons, with everything at stake, find themselves at the centre of a terrifying manhunt. In their care is a tiny child called Lyra Belacqua, and in that child lies the fate of the future. And as the waters rise around them, powerful adversaries conspire for mastery of Dust: salvation to some, the source of infinite corruption to others.

Eighteen years after his ground breaking production of His Dark Materials at the National Theatre, director Nicholas Hytner returns to Pullman’s parallel universe. Broadcast live from London’s Bridge Theatre.

Thursday April 7 – 7:00 P.M.

Sunday, april 10 – 1:00 p.m., buy tickets, ticket prices.

$24 General Admission $22 Students, Military $17 Seniors $5   UNL, Nebraska Wesleyan, Union College, and SCC Students

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THEATRE REVIEW: Philip Pullman’s The Book Of Dust – La Belle Sauvage at Bridge Theatre

Posted on December 3, 2021 by mrmonstagigz

By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***1/2

WHEN?: Thursday 2 December 2021, opens 7 December booking until 26 February 2022

RUNTIME: 150 minutes (including a 20-minute interval)

The best thing about this prequel to His Dark Materials based on the 2017 book is the theatre debut of Samuel Creasey (pictured above right) who reminds of a young James Corden in the leading role as 12-year-old Malcolm Polstead.

• Read on for reasons including how climate change fears and Storm Arwen make the setting very now

Set 12 years before the His Dark Materials trilogy, its hero Lyra Belacqua is a baby who is being hidden by nuns away from her parents Lord Asriel and Mrs Coulter, who will be familiar characters to fans of Philip Pullman’s well-imagined multiverses.

As we write this, Storm Arwen means thousands of homes are without power and climate change concerns are high, so the setting of a great flood hitting the country seems apt.

La Belle Sauvage is the 1st book in a trilogy to be called The Book Of Dust described as ‘His Darker Materials’ in the show’s programme and it’s an appropriate description because there is seemingly more here to unsettle than in the original beloved trilogy.

Polstead’s school is visited by Mrs Coulter (Ayesha Dharker, terrifying in towering heels, pictured centre far below) who encourages the children to inform on those adults they suspect of heresy and being of interest to the CCD (Consistorial Court of Discipline).

It’s not the 1st gentle Nazi evocation as the brutal CCD officers wear striking armbands reminding of swastikas.

Malcolm’s home is the Trout Inn, recreated lovingly in the bar of this venue, and this traditional pub setting as well as the less difficult aspects of school life remind of the Harry Potter series.

Pullman draws pre-pubescent characters well and we enjoyed the initial sparring between Malcolm and his older, fellow Trout Inn employee, 15-year-old Alice Parslow imagined in kick-ass and no-nonsense form by Ella Dacres (pictured left above).

Nowhere is the darker theme more clearly personified than by Pip Carter’s seductive Gerard Bonneville whose daemon is a frightening, three-legged, almost permanently giggling hyaena.

Bonneville’s research into the ‘dust’ or dark matter that will be familiar to fans of the series is groundbreaking but his fondness for child abuse is disturbing.

Much needed light relief is supplied aplenty by Creasey’s Malcolm whose charm and warmth remind of Corden’s Olivier Award-winning turn in One Man, Two Guvnors . We also enjoyed Dearbhla Molloy ( Uncle Vanya , Harold Pinter Theatre) and Wendy Mae Brown in a variety of comic as well as straight roles.

Director Nicholas Hytner brought His Dark Materials to the National Theatre stage almost 2 decades ago and his vision here is once again beautifully realised. The way the titular canoe glides about the stage is magical.

The puppets used to sit on the shoulder or walk near the main characters to illustrate them in animal form is probably the most endearing and revealing element of Pullman’s world building but for us the story here was not quite as enchanting as the material preceding it.

We loved The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe at this venue in 2020 and hoped it might be matched by this but it wasn’t quite.

Those looking to immerse themselves once more in Pullman’s beautifully drawn world will welcome this opportunity but we had higher hopes from the storytelling than we felt was achieved.

• Pictures by Manuel Harlan via Facebook courtesy Bridge Theatre Tickets
• Have you heard any of these songs or seen any of these shows? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
• Enjoyed this review? Follow monstagigz on Twitter @NeilDurham, email [email protected] and check us out on  Instagram  and  Facebook

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NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE: THE BOOK OF DUST - LA BELLE SAUVAGE @ Stephen Joseph Theatre

Set twelve years before the epic His Dark Materials trilogy, this gripping adaptation revisits Philip Pullman’s fantastical world in which waters are rising and storms are brewing.

Two young people and their dæmons, with everything at stake, find themselves at the centre of a terrifying manhunt. In their care is a tiny child called Lyra Belacqua, and in that child lies the fate of the future. And as the waters rise around them, powerful adversaries conspire for mastery of Dust: salvation to some, the source of infinite corruption to others.

Eighteen years after his ground breaking production of His Dark Materials at the National Theatre, director Nicholas Hytner returns to Pullman’s parallel universe.

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The Book of Dust Tickets

About The Book of Dust

Philip Pullman sets The Book of Dust – La Belle Sauvage twelve years before his epic His Dark Materials trilogy.

Two young people and their dæmons, with everything at stake, find themselves at the centre of a terrifying manhunt. In their care is a tiny child called Lyra Belacqua, and in that child lies the fate of the future. And as the waters rise around them, powerful adversaries conspire for mastery of Dust: salvation to some, the source of infinite corruption to others.

Seventeen years after his ground breaking production of His Dark Materials at the National Theatre, Nicholas Hytner returns to Pullman’s parallel universe to direct a gripping adaptation by Bryony Lavery.

3rd December, 2021

26th February, 2022

Bridge Theatre

The Book of Dust cast and creative team

By : Phillip Pullman, adapted by Bryony Lavery Songs by : Grant Olding Director : Nicholas Hytner, Emily Burns and James Cousins Cast list : Julie Atherton, Holly Atkins, Wendy Mae Brown, Pip Carter, Samuel Creasey, Ella Dacres, Ayesha Dharker, Heather Forster, Naomi Frederick, Richard James-Neale, John Light, Dearbhla Molloy, Tomi Ogbaro, Sid Sagar, Nick Sampson and Sky Yang Design : Bob Crowley Lighting : Jon Clark Choreography : James Cousins Sound : Paul Arditti

Location : Fringe/Off West End Railway station : London Bridge or Waterloo Bus numbers : (Tower Bridge - Stop L) 42, 78, 343

More information about The Book of Dust

The fantastical world of Philip Pullman is coming to the stage once again, with the world premiere adaptation of The Book of Dust - La Belle Sauvage at London’s Bridge Theatre. Join a baby Lyra and her two young protectors on a daring river chase in Nicholas Hytner’s highly anticipated new production. Plan your trip now and book your The Book of Dust - La Belle Sauvage tickets.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that Pullman’s work has been adapted. His original trilogy, His Dark Materials , has spawned a Hollywood film, a recent BBC/HBO TV series, and an acclaimed stage version at the National Theatre back in 2003. The latter bodes extremely well for The Book of Dust - La Belle Sauvage London production.

This new story, the first in Pullman’s The Book of Dust trilogy, is actually a prequel to His Dark Materials . Here, the heroine of Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass , Lyra Belacqua, is just a baby in need of protection. Young Malcolm and Alice rescue her from evil forces and escape down the river during an epic flood, hoping to reach her father, Lord Asriel. Bryony Lavery is adapting the story for stage and it promises to be a thrilling adventure, so make sure you don’t miss The Book of Dust - La Belle Sauvage at the Bridge Theatre.

This slick, modern London venue can be configured in numerous ways, which should prove handy when dealing with Pullman’s world — there’s switches between recognisable parts of our own reality and mystical elements, such as daemons, the animal-like creatures which reflect their person’s inner self. Pullman also addresses organised religion through the all-powerful Magisterium, as well as philosophical and scientific ideas. That should make The Book of Dust - La Belle Sauvage play a rich experience for audiences of all ages. It’s also bound to be a very popular booking, so don’t leave it too late. Buy your The Book of Dust - La Belle Sauvage tickets now.

What to Watch For

• Nicholas Hytner is no stranger to Philip Pullman’s work. When he was artistic director at the National, he directed the stage adaptation of His Dark Materials , which starred Anna Maxwell Martin, Dominic Cooper, Timothy Dalton and Patricia Hodge. He now hosts the premiere of Pullman’s latest trilogy at his new venue, the Bridge Theatre.
• Bryony Lavery also has a strong track record of bringing literary favourites to stage. Her previous adaptations include David Walliams’ The Midnight Gang and Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol for Chichester Festival Theatre, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island for the National Theatre, and touring productions of Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock and Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones .
• How will this stage play capture Pullman’s fantastical creatures? Well, there’s definitely going to be puppetry involved, as Barnaby Dixon is part of the creative team. Dixon’s puppet-based YouTube videos are hugely popular and use innovative technical methods, so expect to see that reflected in the production.
• Prequel La Belle Sauvage offers fascinating insights into His Dark Materials for Pullman superfans. See if you can spot all of the author’s references — whether it’s the rise of the Magisterium, the origins of an alethiometer, the pivotal role of Jordan College, or more subtle plot and character Easter eggs.
• Water-based plays have a mixed history on our stages. Alan Ayckbourn’s Way Upstream, with its flooded stage, was a notorious flop at the National Theatre in 1982. But there have been recent successes, too, like Life of Pi . Life of Pi uses imaginative theatrical techniques, rather than a literal deluge, and Hytner’s production — which has a video designer and movement director on board — looks to be in that vein.

Unfortunately, tickets for this event are no longer available.

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National Theatre Live: Book of Dust – La Belle Sauvage

Date: Saturday, January 27 at 12pm

Running Time: 2 hours 48 minutes

MPA Rating: Not Rated

Organization: Maine Film Center

Venue: Maine Film Center, 93 Main Street, Waterville, Maine

This film is eligible for the Youth Arts Access Fund.

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Paramount Theatre

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National Theatre Live – The Book of Dust

Apr 21 2022

Tickets: $15

Join us one-hour before showtime for a pre-screening cocktail hour (cash bar) and discussion on the broadcast!

Set twelve years before his epic His Dark Materials trilogy, this gripping adaptation revisits Phillip Pullman’s fantastical world in which waters are rising and storms are brewing.

Two young people and their dæmons, with everything at stake, find themselves at the centre of a terrifying manhunt. In their care is a tiny child called Lyra Belacqua, and in that child lies the fate of the future. And as the waters rise around them, powerful adversaries conspire for mastery of Dust: salvation to some, the source of infinite corruption to others.

Eighteen years after his groundbreaking production of His Dark Materials at the National Theatre, director Nicholas Hytner returns to Pullman’s parallel universe. Broadcast live from London’s Bridge Theatre.

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The Book of Dust Tickets

About The Book of Dust

Philip Pullman sets The Book of Dust – La Belle Sauvage twelve years before his epic His Dark Materials trilogy.

Two young people and their dæmons, with everything at stake, find themselves at the centre of a terrifying manhunt. In their care is a tiny child called Lyra Belacqua, and in that child lies the fate of the future. And as the waters rise around them, powerful adversaries conspire for mastery of Dust: salvation to some, the source of infinite corruption to others.

Eighteen years after his ground breaking production of His Dark Materials at the National Theatre, Nicholas Hytner returns to Pullman’s parallel universe to direct a gripping adaptation by Bryony Lavery.

3rd December, 2021

26th February, 2022

Bridge Theatre

The Book of Dust cast and creative team

By : Phillip Pullman, adapted by Bryony Lavery Songs by : Grant Olding Director : Nicholas Hytner, Emily Burns and James Cousins Cast list : Julie Atherton, Holly Atkins, Wendy Mae Brown, Pip Carter, Samuel Creasey, Ella Dacres, Ayesha Dharker, Heather Forster, Naomi Frederick, Richard James-Neale, John Light, Dearbhla Molloy, Tomi Ogbaro, Sid Sagar, Nick Sampson and Sky Yang Design : Bob Crowley Lighting : Jon Clark Choreography : James Cousins Sound : Paul Arditti

Location : Fringe/Off West End Railway station : London Bridge or Waterloo Bus numbers : (Tower Bridge - Stop L) 42, 78, 343

Unfortunately, tickets for this event are no longer available.

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Manchester theatre to offer £15 ticket lottery as Book of Mormon returns

The smash-hit musical returns to manchester this week for a four-week run.

• 13:35, 10 SEP 2024

Broadway's smash-hit musical The Book of Mormon returns to Manchester's Palace Theatre this week, and to mark its return, theatre-goers will be able to snap up £15 tickets.

Running from 11 September until 5 October, today it has been confirmed today that 15 tickets for each performance will be made available at £15 each, from 12pm the day of the performance via ATG tickets .

The comedy musical created by South Park's Trey Parker and Matt Stone played to sell-out crowds on its last tours here in 2019 and 2021. As part of its 2024 UK tour, it'll be here in Manchester for an extended, four week run.

READ MORE: Coronation Street and Strictly Come Dancing stars announced for Chicago musical heading to Manchester

The musical follows the story of two missionaries sent to preach the Mormon religion to a remote Ugandan village. The two young men find a notable lack of interest from the villagers, who have bigger things to deal with - such as famine, AIDS, and warfare.

Written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, with Avenue Q's Robert Lopez, The Book of Mormon has been showing at London's Prince of Wales theatre since 2013. It is known for its risqué and often jaw-dropping satire.

On this current tour, the cast will be led by Adam Bailey as Elder Price and Sam Glen as Elder Cunningham, Nyah Nish as Nabulungi, Tom Bales as Elder McKinley, Kirk Patterson as Mafala Hatimbi, Will Barratt as Joseph Smith and Rodney Earl Clarke as the General.

Since making its world premiere in March 2011 at New York’s Eugene O’Neill Theatre, where it won nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, The Book of Mormon has been performed on three continents and won over thirty international awards. The musical has smashed long-standing box office records in New York, London, Melbourne, Sydney and cities across the United States.

The London production opened at the Prince of Wales Theatre in February 2013 when it set the record for the highest single day of sales in West End history and went on to win four Olivier Awards including Best New Musical.

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