Trick of the Light Theatre presents

The Bookbinder

CREDITS

Writer / performer
Ralph McCubbin Howell

Director
Hannah Smith

Composition and sound design
Tane Upjohn-Beatson

Pop-up book
Hannah Smith

Production design
Hannah Smith and Ralph McCubbin Howell

A NOTE FROM TRICK OF THE LIGHT

This is a little show that has surpassed all our expectations. It premiered in a back room of Arty Bees Bookshop, Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington), during NZ Fringe 2014, and as the season went on we had to increase our capacity from fifteen to fire hazard. Since then it’s taken us around Aotearoa / New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, China, the UK, and North America. The play is an ever-evolving beastie and we’d love to hear what you thought. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and BlueSky @trickofthelightnz, or fill out the form at the end of this page. We wanted to make something that was intimate and immediate, engaging and surprising – kind of like reading a book. We wanted to tell a story about the way stories are constructed, and we wanted to spin a good yarn. Hope you like it. 

Find out more about the show including trailers, past seasons, and behind the scenes videos on our full show page here.

We are performing The Bookbinder in Aberdeen and Galway, Ireland next month. We’re also performing Suitcase Show in Orkney next week, at Aberdeen in late July and Assembly Roxy in Edinburgh over August – then we’re off on tour to Denmark this October. If you liked the show, spread the word.

GREEN THEATRE

We are in a climate crisis and we recognise that making and touring theatre comes with an environmental footprint. As a company we are committed to adapting our work and ways of working towards environmental sustainability, and to using our platform to advocate better practices. Find out more about our green strategy, and links to resources we’ve found useful on our About page here, and follow our trusty compost bucket on our Insta.

THANKS

It takes a village to put on a theatre show – thanks to everyone in Kingsbarns who have welcomed us into their community and lent us set pieces for this performance, particularly James, Gill, Andrew, David, and Mary for lending us books and bookshelves, and to Aimee for lending us her lamp. Thanks also to Tills Bookshop in Edinburgh for lending us their rug, and hosting us last week. Jamie and Valerie deserve particular thanks / hold some responsibility for leading us over to this corner of Scotland, and for kicking off this whole thing when twelve years ago Jamie said “I’ve met this bookbinder, I think you should have a chat.”

Huge thanks to all the team at the Byre for having us over to play. Thanks to our brilliant assistant Sophie Helm, and as always to friends and whānau – we couldn’t have made this without you.

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