After escaping from the high security camp at Bolvangar, Lyra and her companions fly north in a hot-air balloon towards the kingdom of the armoured bears. Lyra falls out of the balloon as it crashes, is captured by a large group of bears and taken to their fortress of Svalbard. There she tries to trick King Iofur into believing she is not a human but a daemon - the thing he wants above all things.
Rehearsing the Svalbard scene required the choreographing and blocking of large groups and the intimate scene of suspicion and trickery between Lyra and Iofur. The movement of the performers and the changes of scene would eventually make full use of the Olivier Theatre’s revolving stage. An additional challenge in rehearsal is to plan these actions first without, and then with, the stage movements.
Captured by Bears shows the development of the initial scene, the choreography of the bears and the stage movements as they bring Lyra to Svalbard.
Iofur deceived shows the transition to the more intimate scene between Lyra and Iofur with Assistant Director
Matt Wilde working with the actors to find their performances.