Review of 'The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Exhibition'

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The new Netflix show “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” brings us this exhibit at the BFI on the Southbank that gives an insight into how the show was made and, of course, stir up some interest for the show itself. “Age of Resistance” is a eight part mini-series set before the events of the fantasy film The Dark Crystal telling the story of how the Crystal of Truth came to be shattered.

Tickets to the show were free but needed to be pre-booked online. We managed without such a booking but had to wait about 30 minutes on the Monday of the holiday weekend we visited before we were let into the show which occupied the Mezzanine Gallery above the ticket counter in the BFI.

However, there were exhibits in the BFI lobby including “The Skeksis Throne” (featuring a full-sized Skeksis!)…

…and old mystic Aughra (“Welcome to Thra”)…

The exhibit itself really showed off the craftsmanship of those that made the new series. The attention to design detail as well as to the mythology of the Dark Crystal world was truly incredible and to see this so close up was an absolute privilege.

The first part of the exhibit “The Art of Gallery” focused on the production and design process with the second half consisted of full-sized displays composed of props from the series in two rooms: “Castle of the Crystal” (the Skeksis dining room where you could have your picture taken by a helpful staff members with an instant camera, though, sadly, our picture did not turn out)…

…followed by a second room with a trail through “Endless Forest” and “Stone-in-the-Wood”. Of course there was a small gift shop at the end where you could claim a prize for solving a puzzle in the exhibit and also purchase various other memorabilia (including copies of the original film).

A great exhibit though it is a shame it was only on for such a short amount of time. Well worth seeing…sorry if you may have missed it!

Rating: “I have absolutely no complaints”

Review Date: 2019-08-26



BFI Southbank

Location: London (England)

Address: Belvedere Rd, Lambeth, London SE1 8XT ENGLAND

Public Transport: TUBE Waterloo TUBE Embankment NRLOGO Waterloo

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7928 3232

URL: https://www.bfi.org.uk/

The British Film Institute is an organisation that encourages not only the British film industry but film-making in general with frequent events and screenings in this, their Southbank headquarters located under Waterloo bridge opposite the National Theatre.

There is a ticket office here as well as two cinemas, a bar and light-eating restaurant, and a shop featuring quite a number of films, books and other film-related material. They also have an extensive film archive here that can be accessed for an hourly fee.

Entrance is free though, of course, events generally cost money!