Philip Pullman’s The Book of Dust – La Belle Sauvage is set twelve years before the epic His Dark Materials trilogy. This stage adaptation, by Bryony Lavery, was first performed at London’s Bridge Theatre in December 2021, directed by Nicholas Hytner.

La Belle Sauvage is the opening instalment of The Book of Dust trilogy by Philip Pullman. This story is a prequel to Pullman’s acclaimed His Dark Materials and takes place twelve years earlier, when Lyra, the protagonist, is just a baby. It tells the tale of how Malcolm Polstead, a bright and curious eleven-year-old boy living with his parents in Oxford, ends up rescuing the baby Lyra with the help of fifteen-year-old Alice and his trusty canoe, La Belle Sauvage.

This is an amateur production by arrangement with Nick Hern Books.

DIRECTED BY: Jane Verrall
COURSE: Performance Foundation Course (Year 11)
DURATION: 2 hours (plus a 20-minute interval)
AGE RESTRICTION: 12+

Content warning: this show uses haze smoke effects.