The Art of Darkness Staging the Philip Pullman Trilogy

Philip Pullman's award-winning trilogy His Dark Materials had everything the new Director of the National Theatre could want for a modern audience, but for one thing. It was almost impossible to stage. Nicholas Hytner was halfway through reading the books when he decided to take the risk. "It felt crazy. But we had to try." Robert Butler's intimate backstage account takes us into the meetings, workshops and rehearsals where, over six months, Pullman's 1300-page novel - about daemons, armoured bears and parallel universes - was transformed into six hours of drama. The Art of Darkness follows the ups and downs of the actors in rehearsal, as they bring Lyra, Will, Pantalaimon, Lord Asriel, Mrs Coulter and many others to life.