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DARK MATERIAL.(The Talk of the Town)(His Dark Materials)(Theater Review)
Unless you reserved a seat in December, even before the reviews came out, the only way you can see the adaptation of Philip Pullman's trilogy "His Dark Materials," at the National Theatre in London this winter, is to stand in line and hope to get one of the thirty seats or sixty spaces for standees that are set aside for sale on the day of the performance. Otherwise, you will have to miss a play that lasts six hours (it can be seen in one sitting, with a dinner break, or on separate days, in three-hour segments); includes witches, angels, armored polar bears, talking dolls who ride dragonflies, evil prelates, a hundred and seventeen scene changes, multiple universes, Timothy Dalton, and a hot-air balloon; and features one of the few theatrical representations of the death of God (who turns out to be a tiny old guy in a plastic casket, and who, when he has his big moment, literally croaks). The run ends in March, and the production was designed for a special multitiered revolving stage, in the Olivier Theatre at the National, so it's not likely to be remounted anywhere else. There are plans, though, to bring it back at the end of 2004.
The first volume of Pullman's trilogy, called "Northern Lights" in England and "The Golden Compass" in the United States, came out in 1995. The books are basically for twelve-year-olds, but they have acquired a following rivalling that of "The Lord of the Rings." The claim is based on an empirical finding. Last fall, in a BBC poll undertaken to determine "the UK's best-loved book," "His Dark Materials" finished third, behind "Pride and Prejudice" and the great Frododyssey itself. (The BBC received three-quarters of a million votes. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" finished fifth, just ahead of "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Winnie the Pooh," and "1984." "Ulysses" limped across the line in seventy-eighth place.)
At a recent performance, a few people left during the dinner break, but not many, and though there were plenty of twelve-year-olds in the audience, it was by no means a young crowd. And there were no complaints heard afterward about the length. The reviews, when they did appear, were mixed; some critics were unhappy because the play wasn't enough like the books, which they loved, and some were unhappy because it was too much like ...
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...season of Christmas, another anti-religion novel series will hit the big screens. The Golden Compass is based on the "Dark Materials" trilogy of atheist children's author Phillip Pullman, a series he wrote promoting antagonism to all religion, particular...
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His Dark Materials Trilogy (The Golden Compass, The...describes Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. All the more diabolical...children's literature. He wrote His Dark Materials as a rebuttal to Lewis's Narnia...
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- Magazine article from: Phi Delta Kappan Glanzer, Perry October 1, 2005 700+ words
...Pullman's best-selling trilogy, His Dark Materials. And the reason it will cause such...an attack on a different one. His Dark Materials feeds on Christianity. Furthermore...thoughtful Christians who read His Dark Materials will take offense at Pullman's rather...
- Rights to Philip Pullman film tie-in books acquired by Scholastic.(His Dark...
- Newspaper article from: M2 Best Books October 18, 2006 700+ words
...s first novel in the trilogy His Dark Materials has been announced by Scholastic UK...originating publisher of Pullman's His Dark Materials books. The movie, which is be released...New Line Cinema, is to be titled His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass. According to...
- His Dark Materials.
- Newspaper article from: The Evening Standard (London, England) January 5, 2004 700+ words
...is full of strangeness; it reeks of serious magic. His Dark Materials flings down a forceful challenge about organised religion...acted production does not shrink from emphasising that His Dark Materials is a sort of antireligious Paradise Redesigned: Lyra...
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- Newspaper article from: The Christian Science Monitor February 15, 2001 700+ words
...is "The Amber Spyglass." It's the third in the "His Dark Materials" trilogy, which began with "The Golden Compass" (1996...answer all the questions people have raised about "His Dark Materials." While his books are often classified as fantasy -he...
- Meeting the challenge of his dark materials.(Philip Pullman)(Critical essay)
- Magazine article from: Kliatt Elliott, Marissa September 1, 2008 700+ words
...made its debut on the big screen, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy has caused its share of controversy. In these complex...be a legitimate one, this does not mean the Satan of His Dark Materials is synonymous with "good." Lord Asriel is a man, a complicated...
