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His Dark Materials: The Conversation
On March 15, 2004, Philip Pullman, the author of the trilogy His Dark Materials, met with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, at the National Theatre to discuss religious education and the representation of religion in drama and entertainment. In a recent speech at Downing Street, the Archbishop had recommended His Dark Materials to schools and was glad to see a lot of school groups at the National Theatre’s stage adaptation of the books. He did however mention that it was important for teachers to carefully analyse the world created in the story, and to separate what is reflective of Christian teaching from what isn’t.In this event, chaired by Robert Butler, author of The Art of Darkness, a book on the stage adaptation of His Dark Materials, Pullman and the Archbishop looked at different forms of art, such as film, drama and novels, and discussed if and how they could be used to enhance Religious Education. They looked at how ideas are represented in art and specifically how religion is represented in popular culture. The event closed with questions from the audience. To listen to the conversation, click on the video links to the right. You can listen to the conversation in sequence, or go straight to a topic that interests you. | | |
