Imagine sharing your every waking moment with an animal companion spirit - a daemon. This idea is one of the most intriguing in a book packed with extraordinary imaginings. Each of the characters in Lyra’s world has a daemon - a constant external expression of their soul - from which they are only separated at death. To have a daemon is a defining point of being human. This is what makes the experiments to separate children from their daemons at Bolvangar so barbaric.
Set designer
Giles Cadle talks about the initial challenge and the thought that puppets might be the answer. This led the team to the stage version of
The Lion King, the puppets for which were designed by Michael Curry. When the National team told Curry what they wanted, he produced
initial designs. These daemons come in a variety of forms: some to be held and operated by the actors, others by puppeteers. Ben Wright describes what he had to learn in
operating the golden monkey daemon belonging to Mrs Coulter. Ben and Patricia Hodge, who plays Mrs Coulter, describe the challenge of making their
character and daemon work together. Danny Sapani describes how it feels
acting with daemons …
… and you can also find out what form
Philip Pullman's daemon would take and why she would be the kind of bird that steals bright things.