The craft of bookbinding is a slow, methodical and most of all precise art. The resolutely careful separation, re-attachment and reinforcement of the paper, leather and boarding that holds a story together is itself a form of storytelling. But in Trick of the Light Theatre’s play The Bookbinder, the act is a more literal one, right up until it isn’t any more.
The play follows the adventure of a young boy who takes up a position as an apprentice bookbinder, only to accidentally rip a page from a strange witch’s occult tome, leading to a whole lot of mischief. Writer and performer Ralph McCubbin Howell spins out a beautiful madcap odyssey as reality itself is threatened by the impatient recklessness of youth. Making use of shadows, puppetry and pop-up books, he weaves an intimate delight of a story that is a captivating love-letter to the dusty tomes that surround the audience.
The play is now in its 10th year, and has previously toured the Fringe, but this year, it’s only playing a select few nights in the bijou but hugely atmospheric surroundings of Till’s Bookshop, making the whole experience feel even more magical.
It’s simply a beautiful piece of theatre, which is a good fit for the entire family and will bring out the bookworm in anyone who loves to pick up an old novel and while hours away, lost in the magic of the written word.