Reader Reviews
His Dark Materials (Olivier (National Theatre), West End)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | I'm ashamed that I had not read the books before seeing the plays; the productions, while flawed, have inspired me to do so forthwith. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (128.40.79.243) | 22 Mar 04 |
| When I first heard that these books were to be staged I just thought 'how?' In the end it wasn't bad, and a supreme effort, doing an adequate job of telling the story, but the speed that was necessary to get through it all also meant that there was little meat to anything. The script is all rather obvious in a sort of Sunday-tea-time children's drama way, and it is only the touching ending that left me moved and involved in any way. That said it has sold well, the teenage audience loved it, so maybe it reached its target market. It was all just so superficial, and that is one thing I don't expect from a trip to the theatre. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (212.113.17.218) | 17 Feb 04 |
| This magnificent and endearing production seems to me to be in the pantomime tradition. No slur intended. It is a complex story, with a difficult and rather alien morality but told with confidence. I loved the daemons, particularly Pan and Stelmaria. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (193.118.203.3) | 09 Feb 04 |
| Lyra, the witches and the other worlds. The sets, costumes and music were excellent. The plot went a good pace, altough the send part did drag a bit. Most of the acting was good, but oh dear the witches were dire and I wanted to cheer when one of them killed themselves. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (62.7.154.123) | 04 Feb 04 |
| A website malfunction gave the review below 3 stars where none were intended. However, it seems 1 star is the minimum that can be awarded - USER: Whatsonstage.com (82.43.168.105) | 03 Feb 04 |
| Oh dear God in Heaven, deliver me from my sins! I have done penance in the form of six relentless hours of His Dark Materials at the National Theatre. I have suffered enough. The one thing that must be said in its defence is that it is giving employment to a host of actors, and as is revealed in the rather moving final bow, to a small army of technicians. It is also providing fairly harmless diversion for the middlebrow classes, who left the theatre in an afterglow of satisfaction. They felt they had been enlightened. I followed morosely in their footsteps, depressed that the imagination of the nation is so impoverished that such tosh is taken seriously. Four weeks had passed since I'd endured Part One, and so little impression had it made that I worried that I might not be able to follow the story. Surely we'd get "Previously, on His Dark Materials.." (We sort of did.) But I had only to read the cast-list to feel the will to live seep through my pores: Lyra Belaqua, Lord Asriel, Seraphina Pelaaka, Galileo Figaro and Scaramouche. Whoops, the last two appeared in We Will Rock You but it's an easy mistake: both shows are vaguely futuristic, and each in its muddled way is an attack on authority - but We Will Rock You has Queen songs and doesn't have the irritating "daemons". Oh dear God, the "daemons"! Don't let anyone try to tell you that this conceit works. They are the worst idea since R2T2 and CP3O. These "Jungian manifestations of the consciousness" or "guardian angels" (wrong on both counts) are operated by distracting black-clad dancers who skip around the actors pretending that the audience can't see them. I'm told that this is a theatrical convention. If it is, I never want to see it again. It used to be a convention that wenches strolled through the theatre selling oranges, and they would be a much more welcome sight. Some of the actors do their best, which under the circumstances can't be easy. Anna Maxwell Martin and Dominic Cooper play with conviction, and manage to be quite touching. Patricia Hodge is clearly longing to get out of this mess, and into a nice tour of Hay Fever in the better regional theatres: it would be bliss, it would be Judith Bliss. Timothy Dalton is stalwart: he stands, legs apart and shouts his lines to the back of the circle. (There is a lot of shouting, and indeed pointing, at the back of the circle - even though the actors are heavily miked. Thank you Mr Hytner; your arrogance denied us the pleasure of hearing Shakespeare's words last summer, but you don't spare us the clunky dialogue here.) I expected some of the minor performances to have developed since the play opened, but sadly most of the cast are going through the motions. What else could they do? We know from their track record that most of them can do much better than this; the awfulness of some of the performances is so extreme it must be definitive. Great claims have been made for Philip Pullman's book as a serious meditation on religion, and I have to concede that on one front, his collaboration with Nicholas Wright and Old Nick Hytner presented a serious challenge to my faith. It is bad beyond belief. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (82.43.168.105) | 03 Feb 04 |
| This was, without a doubt, one of the most spectacular pieces of theatre I have seen for a good long while. I am a huge fan of the books, and so approached the idea of a stage adaption with some trepidation. This was not entirely unfounded: the play does have it's problems, as one would expect from any attempt to tell such a huge, deep and complex story in such a limited timeframe. While the events of the narrative were, for the most part, superbly realised, it was noticable that the rush to include as much plot as possible led to problems of pace and clarity. The events of Lyra's adventures rushed by at breakneck speed and I found myself wondering what would be made of it by anyone who had not read the books. Characters flit on and off stage, concepts and srtifacts are introduced in one breath to be seemingly forgotten in the next, and it was only during the interval that I was able to knit some of the threads together in my mind. This speed also led to a feeling of shallowness, as the play sometimes seemed to be content with merely presenting events, without exploring the emotional and conceptual depths that are such a strength of the books. But these are, in a way, minor niggles. teken as a companion to the books, rather than a replacement, the play was deeply thrilling. I must confess to being struck with child-like awe, as is only appropriate, at the audacious staging and the visual richness of it all. The cast were also superb, and it was a thrill to see the characters I love so much brought to life so well. Special kudos to Timothy Dalton, who captured the contradictory nature of Lord Asriel perfectly. And full respect to the writer and director for not diluting the books' healthy contempt for the foulnesses or organised religion. Duncan Lewis - USER: Whatsonstage.com (213.122.102.33) | 26 Jan 04 |
| Having just seen both parts on the same day, I have to say that although purists may justifiably nit-pick at the text, this is a stunning and extraordinary theatrical event. Six and a half hours of pure magical storytelling held a packed auditorium (many of whom were children) totally entranced - the intervals buzzed with excited discussions as youngsters carefully explained the plot and central themes to their parents. This is the kind of production that guarantees the future of theatre and we should all be grateful for the vision, commitment and energy of all concerned. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (195.92.67.74) | 25 Jan 04 |
| the absolute worst thing i have ever seen at the theatre. complete tedium. i want those 7 hours of my life back. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (81.133.154.1) | 21 Jan 04 |
| I saw both parts in one day and loved it. it really was a thrillingly epic undertaking and very imaginatively - and theatrically (no overreliance on video back projection here) - staged. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (82.69.37.108) | 12 Jan 04 |
| As theatre productions go, it's probably the most impressively-staged shows that I've ever seen... and I think Nicholas Hytner and Nicholas Wright have done a fantastic job of condensing 1300 pages into six hours' of theatre. Anna Maxwell Martin and Dominic Cooper hold your attention as Lyra and Will, and the rest of the cast are great - in particular, Timothy Dalton, Stephen Greif, Tim McMullan and Russell Tovey. Most of the puppets (especially the cliff ghasts and the wonderfully camp angels) work very well, although it takes a while to 'blot out' the black-clad puppeteer. Having read the books, I couldn't hide my disappointment at some of the cuts, but what else should I have expected? I'm very pleased to hear that the National is bringing it back later this year - I'm sure there'll be a huge rush for tickets from those who could get them the first time around. Andrew B - USER: Whatsonstage.com (193.130.127.205) | 12 Jan 04 |
| Impressive as it was, theatre is no place to be literal. If ever there was a story that cried out for metaphor, for subtext and dramatic ingenuity, this was it. Instead we get a ploddingly literal version of the books, with amateurish puppetry rather patronisingly hijacked from the bunraku tradition. The magnificent central performances elevate the last half of the second play into something genuinely beautiful, but it is only when the staging simplifies and trusts the audience to use their imaginations that the play really takes flight. A massive disappointment. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (213.122.70.67) | 06 Jan 04 |
| Not having read the books beforehand, I was completely unprepared for the "leap of faith" required to appreciate this show, and admit that I found the first half very heavy going. But, regardless of whether I understood what was going on or not, I was completely swept away by the amazing stagecraft and the incredible scope of the play. And now, having read the first book, I am amazed at just how much of it they managed to get on the stage. Sure there are bits missing, but nothing important. I found Part 2 easier to follow - possibly because I had become caught up in the action. Had I read the books first, I would have thought them unproduceable on stage. How wrong could I be! The theatre was packed with children who were obviously even more rapt than I was - not a sound did I hear. So it must have been good! LOVED the armoured bears and the daemons (especially the Golden Monkey) - and the camp Angels were fabulous! Blistering performance from Patricia Hodge. If this show isnt showered with awards then it will be a crying shame. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (62.6.139.13) | 06 Jan 04 |
| A brilliant piece of theatre. I loved every minute of the show. The performers bring all the many characters to life superbly in this great adaptation of the Philip Pullman books. I was a bit disappointed with the amount of the book that was omitted though. The young children sitting around me hardly said a word for 6 hours!!! That must show how good it is as children seem to barely last 6 minutes without talking in a theatre these days. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (213.78.149.11) | 06 Jan 04 |
| Wizard of Oz, isnt it? Small fiesty gal with tiny furry pal goes to different world, meets different species, bad witch, good witch, flawed wizard, wins out. Even a balloon! Ok, its a bear not a lion, but hey. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (195.93.34.14) | 05 Jan 04 |
| LOVED IT, IT IS AMAZING AND SURE MANY OF THE REVIEWS POSTED (ALL TODAY) ARE FROM THE SAME BITTER PERSON WHO HAS NO TASTE AT ALL. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (205.188.209.82) | 05 Jan 04 |
| I don't understand these good reviews. It was bad, very bad theatre. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (213.75.167.148) | 05 Jan 04 |
| Well, 4.5 really. For some reason (maybe the pre-opening hype and the delays for technical reasons) I was expecting 'spectacle'. What I actually got was a masterpiece of adaptation and a wondeful piece of story-telling. In many ways the design / staging felt dated, which I rather think suited it. What brings it off is the clear structure and dialogue, fabulous performances (especially from the actors who played Lyra, Will and Roger) and the intelligence of the story itself. This is a thought-provoking piece for adults and older children. It patronises neither. It stimulates both. For this 'Christmas' mixed audience, it's a breath of fresh air - and another feather in the RNT's crown. By the way, I saw the two parts on separate nights and wished I'd seen them together; the other reviewers seem to have found that heavier going. I was also surprised at the younger children in the audience; personally, I don't think it's suitable for anyone under 12. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (212.211.96.14) | 05 Jan 04 |
| I hate it! It was boring! Jannet - USER: Whatsonstage.com (213.75.167.148) | 05 Jan 04 |
| Ambitious undertaking by the National, but they succeeded. A long, intense day if seeing both parts in one day, so not for the faint of heart or thick in head. Especially liked the actors playing the children and the amoured bear. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (193.113.57.165) | 05 Jan 04 |
| I think it was awfull! A terrible day in the theatre! Blagghhh. Theo - USER: Whatsonstage.com (62.234.139.38) | 05 Jan 04 |
