As part of the centenary celebrations of the V&A’s Theatre and Performance Collection props, costumes and a specially made film about the making of His Dark Materials has been acquired to be shown in the permanent Theatre and Performance Galleries at the iconic V&A South Kensington museum.
These unique items now form part of the museum’s internationally renowned and recognised National Collection of Performing Arts, giving visitors an insight into the creative process behind the BAFTA and RTS winning HBO / BBC series.
Lyra’s alethiometer inspired by nautical compasses, star-charting astrolabes and clockwork mechanisms is on display alongside the costume actress Dafne Keen wears in the opening scenes of the series with the puppet of her daemon – Pantalaimon – in the form of an ermine.
Cold and elegant, Mrs Coulter (Ruth Wilson) has her blue velvet embroidered costume, worn in Jordan College, displayed alongside the Golden Monkey.
And Texan aeronaut Lee Scoresby (Lin Manuel Miranda) is represented in his iconic leather overcoat and waistcoat alongside the puppet of his daemon Hester, the Arctic Hare.
Also accepted into the collection is a large model of Iorek, the panserbjorn, and a wire mesh model of his head used for filming.
The Amber Spyglass and the Subtle Knife props have also been accessioned by the museum alongside a behind the scenes film, revealing how the multiple worlds of the acclaimed TV series were brought to life.
The exhibition represents a small part of the incredible work of the whole creative team who worked at Wolf Studios Wales in Cardiff:
Designer and Executive Producer Joel Collins; Costume Designer Caroline McCall; VFX Supervisor Russell Dodgson with Framestore and Painting Practice; CFX team members Brian Fisher and Eliot Gibbins.
Executive Producers for Bad Wolf were Jane Tranter, Dan McCulloch, Joel Collins, Ryan Rasmussen and Julie Gardner.
His Dark Materials was produced by Bad Wolf in association with New Line Cinema for BBC One and HBO with support of Welsh Government funding through Creative Wales.
His Dark Materials props and costumes are also still available to be seen at the Science Museum, Pitt Rivers Museum and History Museum in Oxford.
Image Peter Kelleher © The Victoria and Albert Museum, London
