Lyra and Will find themselves embarked on a thrilling journey through worlds familiar and unknown. Their great quest demands a savage struggle against the most dangerous of enemies. They encounter fantastical creatures in parallel worlds - rebellious angels, soul-eating Spectres, child-catching Gobblers and the armoured bears and witch-clans of the Arctic. Finally, before reaching, perhaps, the Republic of Heaven, they must visit the Land of the Dead ...<BR>Adapted from Philip Pullman's three novels into two full-length plays, Nicholas Wright's stage version of His Dark Materials was a triumph when premiered at the National Theatre in a production directed by Nicholas Hytner. Published here is the revised text prepared when the plays were re-staged by popular demand the following year.